Merry Ol' London Town
by Destro-of-the-worldses
Summary: Four members of the 501st JFW are sent on a forced vacation to London. One member of the OSS is investigating several murders. One member of his Majesty's Secret Service is investigating several murders. One Neuroi assassin is on the prowl. All is not safe. (Features OCs, strong violence, course language and sexual themes) (sequel to "Wolf")
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own Strike Witches, which I am sure many of you know already.**

* * *

Prologue

* * *

Minna was looking through Mio's latest training reports as well as Richard's. Over the past few weeks, Eila, Perrine and Wolf had all been excelling. Wolf now had dozens of Core kills to her name, and Eila and Perrine had added dozens to their own. There was one major setback to their persistence however; they were getting tired, both mentally and physically. "They need a break."

"We did try and tell you that," Richard said, pulling Minna out of her deep thought and making her jump. People normally knocked before entering her office

Minna took a deep breath and looked up to see Richard and Mio at the other side of her desk, both with their arms crossed over their chests.

"Maybe you need a break too?" Mio pointed out.

Minna smiled, "Why, so you can take over?" she laughed lightly, "I'm afraid I have to stay here. But, maybe we should force the other three to take a break."

"I think we should send them on a vacation to London," Richard said.

"Vacation?" Mio scoffed.

Even Minna was surprised by that notion. Richard was normally as hard as Mio.

"We need everyone we have," Minna told the man tiredly.

Richard shrugged, "I could pull some strings, get some Liberians over here, maybe see about getting a couple from the Highlands."

"I don't think it is wise to send those three away alone," Minna said, pursing her lips in thought, "They don't exactly get along."

"I could go with them," Richard offered, "keep them out of trouble and all that, makes sure they don't get lost. And it's where Wolf grew up, so she'll know her way around."

"Okay then," Minna said, leaning back in her seat and feeling some relief at having dealt with one of the many problems that lay before her. "Richard, since you will be taking them, I think you should tell them. They're…" Minna's familiar appeared as she used her area analysis to find the Witches, and then disappeared a moment later, "… all in the dining hall."

"Yes, ma'am," Richard said, snapping off a salute. It wasn't necessary since he and Minna were of equivalent rank, but it made her smile, and then she ordered him to never do it again. She didn't like the people around the base saluting her, it made her feel old.

* * *

Wolf, Eila and Perrine all sat at the end of the dining hall table, discussing battlefield tactics oddly enough, and being surprisingly civil considering how their personalities normally clashed.

"…when attacking the high speed class," Perrine was saying, "you need to have someone fly ahead, just two people, to an intercept position about ten clicks ahead, then you get a four unit group to pursue it."

"No, no, no," Eila told the Gallian, waving her finger and leaning in the chair, feet up on the table, "This is why you're not going to be promoted, you don't know what you're doing. You need a four Witch intercept team so that they're carrying enough firepower to take that thing down before it passes them by."

"You're both wrong," Wolf told them casually, and then held up two fingers, "You need two intercept teams, one equipped for long range combat and the other a hard hitter. You should also have three attack teams as well; all three high speed, one team with medium weapons, the other two with light gear, something like a Gewehr 43 or a Thompson, nothing any bigger than that. The Attackers will pursue the target for as long as possible and the intercept teams will attack as the target approaches. Assuming the Witches involved aren't all idiots, the high speed model should be easily dealt with, with no casualties."

"That's a lot of resources for a single high speed model," Perrine commented, rubbing her chin, "It would be more efficient to just have a single team at the intercept point with something heaving hitting like a Fliegerhammer."

"Or a Bofors, one of those anti air guns, a 40mm I think," Wolf replied, sniffing the air and smelling Dick approaching, "There's some Witch in Africa that uses one. She used a pair of them at one point. Might be able to get away with that Witch and a wingman at the intercept then a couple of high speed Witches on the attack, if you're worried about the logistics. Might be simpler to hit it from afar though now that I think about it, a couple of snipers like myself or Lynne, maybe some foot soldiers with a few large calibre rifles could even do it, if they were lucky. A single .55 round through the nose and that baby is dead."

"Where did you learn all that?" Perrine wondered aloud, eyes wide in surprise. As far as Perrine knew, Wolf just trained or drank, the Gallian probably wasn't aware that Wolf read a book or a newspaper every night before bed.

"Unlike you," Wolf smirked, "I get lots of one on one time with my trainer, speaking of whom…" she pointed her thumb at the door and then around, "Afternoon, Dick."

He just shook his head, he hated being called Dick, and then smiled as the air raid siren went to off and the Witches ran to the door, on their way to the hanger, "Hold it right there, ladies. As of this moment you're all off duty."

"WHAT?!" they all exclaimed in unison.

"You're off duty," he replied calmly with a grin, "And I have more good news, we're all going on a vacation to London."

"Wai… London? We can't go to London, we're needed here," Perrine pleaded.

"Commander's orders, I'm afraid," Dick said, crossing his arms, "You're going to London, and you are going to relax, have a good time, and enjoy yourself.

Wolf could tell by the man's tone that it was going to happen and there was nothing any of the Witches could do about, so she asked quietly, "Can we visit my library?"

"We can go wherever you guys want."

"Th-thanks."


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

* * *

Wolf lunged over the side of the jeep to catch Perrine's umbrella as the vehicle hit a bump and was stopped from spreading her face over the road by Eila catching her familiar's tail. They had just gotten into London, and seeing as how it was summer, it was pouring down with rain. Wolf didn't so much care about the rain but if she was going to have to hear one more complaint out of Eila or Perrine about the rain, she was going to throw them off the jeep. Despite Wolf's best protests, Dick had insisted on taking one of the open top jeeps, so at least he wasn't going to complain about the rain if for no other reason than his pride.

"You know, Golden Eyes, I'm gonna need directions to this library of yours," Dick griped, "and we ain't staying there. I don't care how much you argue, it ain't happening."

"Keep going till we get to the Thames, then follow that to the slum," Wolf told him as Eila pulled her back onto jeep, "it's a half a dozen blocks southwest from there." He didn't seem the least bit concerned that Wolf had nearly died to get an umbrella.

"Slums?" Eila asked, she was one of the few people on the base that still didn't know much about Wolf's past.

"I didn't grow up in a nice neighbourhood," Wolf told Eila, "never really slept in a soft bed till I joined you guys." Wolf smiled at Perrine, "And I'd never shot at anyone that was flying before I met you."

Perrine snorted and hid under her umbrella.

After an hour or so, they arrived out front of the library. It was an average sized building with all the windows boarded up and a lot of the walls crumbling.

Perrine leaned over the side of the jeep and stared at the building, "That place is a death trap."

Wolf drew her bayonet and held it against Perrine's throat, "Watch it, Gallian, that's my home you're talking about."

Perrine swallowed, "I- I'm sure it's much nicer on the inside."

Wolf sneered and jumped over the side, "Let me sniff the place out and make sure it's safe." She reached into the back and unzipped the one soaked bag she had brought along, pulling out her Colt 1911 and a single magazine.

"I told you not to bring any of that shit," Dick growled. He had told them not to bring any weapons, with the one exception being Wolf's bayonet.

Wolf flashed him a grin as her ears and tail popped out, "You should know by now that I never listen to you unless you make it an order."

"God damn bitch," she heard him mutter.

Wolf opened the door slightly and stuck her nose in, sniffing the air. It didn't smell like she remembered it, but it had been some time since she had been there, about six or seven months perhaps. She hoped that no vermin had moved in, but she had eight .45 rounds to deal with them if there were any.

She moved the rest of the way through the door and looked around the room. Everything looked the same as when she had left, all the books seemed to be there, and there was only a little more dust, but aside from that nothing was different. Walking around a bit, Wolf breathed in the dusty air, it was nice to be back, and then when she moved into one of the side rooms, she noticed a mattress with a Lee-Enfield lying on it. "You're not meant to be here," she told the rifle and mattress, giving them a sniff. They were the new smell that had meshed with the old, familiar smell. "How did you get here?" The only other things in the room were some shelves and books there upon.

After another twenty minutes of searching, Wolf concluded that the place was safe enough and called for everyone else to come in and bring the bags.

"We're not staying here," Dick said firmly around his lit cigarette as he led Eila and Perrine into the building, "We'll get a couple of rooms above a pub or something, it's not like we can't afford it."

"Wha-" Wolf began to protest.

"We are getting a room, maybe two," Dick said firmly, cutting off Wolf. "You've got…" he looked at his Watch, "…twenty minutes to look around and check out some books, and then we look for some accommodation. There's a place a friend of mine told me about, apparently a lot of witches and military personnel go there, gives them a discount."

"Bu-"

"No buts, Wolf. Go."

"Fine," Wolf sneered, storming off to look for her SherlockHolmes and Biggles books. No matter how hard she had searched back at the base, she had only ever found a couple.

* * *

A single figure stood atop a decaying rafter in the library, looking down at the intruders. There were four in total, three females, one male. Only one of them was armed, the female that had been sniffing around. _Another She Wolf perhaps? No, she would have disguised her scent had that been the case_. The figure removed its hand from the Colt New Service revolver which had NEW SERVICE .455 ELEY carved into the barrel that brandished its hip, assessing the intruders as non-hostile. _I might have to talk with the sniffer… Wolf? Yeah, that's what the man had called her_.

* * *

"There's a gun in here!" Perrine shouted from somewhere in the library, probably from the room with the rifle and the mattress.

"Leave it!" Wolf shouted back while rummaging through one of the back rooms of the library. Some one had moved everything around and she couldn't find anything she wanted. "It probably belongs to some refugee! I know I'd be pretty pissed if some twit shifted my stuff!" Wolf shook her head and muttered to herself, "I'm pretty pissed now."

"Alright, time to go!" Dick shouted, "Hurry up people, take your books to the counter!"

"God dammit," Wolf cursed as she grabbed the small stack of books she had collected and made her way to the front room. Surprisingly, Eila was there with a stack of books almost as tall as she was, and even Perrine had collected a couple.

"I didn't think you liked reading?" Wolf teased the Suomus Witch.

"They're not for me," Eila growled.

Wolf cocked an eyebrow with half grin, "Then why do you have them?"

"Th-they're for Sanya," Eila said with a blush.

"Come one, you two," Dick said impatiently, holding open the door with a freshly lit cigarette in his mouth, "It'll be dark in a few hours and I want a roof over my head."

The Witches put the books into a bag that was still dry and then Dick drove to the pub he had talked about. It was a decent looking place, well lit, no leaks in the roof, plenty of tables and a few dart boards and pool tables. The patrons didn't appear too rowdy and it seemed as though the place served nice meals as well from the looks of the meals people were eating. If Wolf had to guess, she would say that most of the patrons were on rotation from Europe, or from a posting somewhere in Britannia. Maybe a couple of people were just civilians not counting the employees. The military personal could be divided equally between soldiers and Witches.

"This place looks a bit…" Perrine started with a look of disgust on her face, which then turned to disgruntlement. Whatever word she had wanted to use to describe the place was not something she was willing to say, which meant it was unpleasant.

"This is a nice place," Wolf told the Gallian, "I think you need to loosen up. That's it; my mission while we're in London is to get you laid."

Perrine opened her mouth to protest, but Wolf wouldn't have any of it.

"I don't give two halves of a shit that if you're saving yourself for the Major, I'm getting you some."

"Wolf, leave her alone," Dick said with a sigh, "I'm going to talk to owner. By the way, should we get one room or separate rooms? I'm thinking it might be cheaper and easier to get the one and just have them move some beds in…" he smiled, "… or perhaps you guys can share a pallet."

Eila rolled her eyes, Perrine harrumphed, and Wolf simply shook her head. The man had a terrible sense of humour sometimes.

He just laughed and walked off to the bar, blowing rings of smoke.

Wolf turned to Eila, "You want me to get you laid as well?"

Eila again rolled her eyes.

Wolf crossed her arms and turned away from the two Witches, she was at least making an effort to be friendly, but those two were just being uncooperative. After a few moments Dick returned, "I got us a single room… don't look at me that way, I wasn't serious about you guys sharing a pallet. It's a two bed room but I managed to negotiate to have an extra bed put in and a pallet set up, it's only a small room."

"I'll sleep on the pallet," Wolf volunteered.

Everyone looked at her in surprise.

"What? I can't jump on a grenade for my comrades?"

"It's not a grenade," Eila pointed out.

"The same theory applies," Wolf growled at the Suomus girl, "We could fight about it if you really want?"

"No, no, no," Eila and Perrine said at the same time, with Eila adding, "That's fine, you can have it."

Dick shook his head and said, "Let's go grab our stuff."

* * *

The man that stood at the end of the bar with a cigarette looked at the newcomers. That red haired man looked familiar, really familiar, and the patches on his uniform were unmistakable, he was a Liberian too. Perhaps his help could be enlisted, even if he was friends with Witches, but then again, who wasn't these days?

"You from Liberion?" a good looking Witch asked from next to him brandishing a southern accent.

The man smiled, he didn't want to appear abnormal and draw attention after all. "How'd you guess?"

She raised a mocking eyebrow and gave an amused smile, pointing at the Liberian patches on his Navy uniform. "Think you mighta hit yer head on somethin' in the field. Ya know, I'm a medical witch, I could…"

* * *

"So this is where you will be staying," the figure dressed in a cloak to protect herself against the wind and the rain. She was well hidden in the shadows, she would have been well hidden in the middle of the street as well, that was what She Wolves were good at after all. _Well, you may not be a She Wolf girly, but you're definitely a Wolf_.

She walked out of the shadows and back to the library where she had first seen this "Wolf"' that she had followed, the library she had taken up residency in. It was a good place to stay, dry enough, not really interesting enough for passers-by to investigate. Also not the sort a place a She Wolf would normally tolerate staying in.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

* * *

"Enjoy your meals," a slim serving maid said as she delivered the morning meals to Wolf, Perrine, Eila, and Dick.

Dick's eyes lingered on the woman's rear as she walked off. He nudged Wolf in the ribs with his elbow, "She's pretty good lookin', eh?"

Wolf pinched the top of her nose and said coldly, "Dick, you're talking to the one person at the table that doesn't munch carpet."

Both Eila and Perrine shot Wolf a glare.

"Don't be such a prude," Dick said with a smile, he was unusually happy, "You're acting like Barkhorn."

"And you're acting like a sleaze," she retorted around some toast.

Wolf heard a low growl in Eila's throat which turned into a loud, "Would you two cut it out, please! You were arguing all damn night!"

"We weren't arguing," Dick said, "just having a heated discussion."

"I'd call it a fight," Perrine muttered. The poor girl hadn't gotten much sleep either, "The kind of fight an old married couple would have."

Both Wolf and Dick shot her a nasty look.

"Just pointing it out," the Gallian groggily shrugged.

"Anyway, I've got a good day planned for us," Dick said after a moment of quiet, "After breakfast, I was thinking that Wolf could show us around, and then after lunch we'd catch a show and then look around a bit, maybe hit up a museum, you guys should like that right?"

"Sounds fun," Perrine said, suddenly much more energetic.

"Yeah," Eila admitted.

Wolf snorted a laugh, "'fraid phase one of your plan isn't going to work, this place is practically a huge slum."

"What do you mean?" Perrine asked, "We saw a lot of nice places on the way in."

"That's because the bobbies keep all main streets clear of the homeless and European refugees. Helps to keep the city's international reputation clean. If I had to guess, I'd say that around ninety, ninety five percent of the people in this city live in the slums."

Eila's jaw dropped, "They just leave the refugees on the street?!"

"The government can't afford to house them all. Its got the war effort and its own people to take care of. Britannia simply doesn't have the resources to care for all those extra people. Not to mention that a lot of our resources came from Europe. Personally, I think the government is doing the right thing."

"How can you defend them," Perrine shouted, "they left you on the street too!"

"_I_ ran _away_ from the orphanage and the old man took me in, the government had very little to do with it," Wolf replied firmly, "And if it was the government's fault that I grew up that way I'd damn well forgive them. It's all very good saying that all the homeless and the refugees need to be taken care of, but it'd be all for naught if the Neuroi break through our defences and kill everyone."

"That's monstrous!" Perrine proclaimed, jumping to her feet. Eila did so too, yelling, "How can you say such a thing?!"

"She's right," the surprisingly calm Dick told them, "besides, great cities always have homeless people, it can't be avoided. Okay then, you can take us on a tour of the more attractive slums, Golden Eyes."

"I think I can handle that much," Wolf said as she continued her meal, "Won't be much to see, but I can give you guys a tour of the slums."

"I don't want to go visit some slums," Eila scoffed.

"Prices are cheaper in the slums," Wolf told her, trying to change Eila's opinion, "maybe not at first but most people can be haggled down to something reasonable."

"I'm not going," Eila said firmly, "I'd rather just stay here and catch up on some sleep. We _are_ here to relax after all."

"Do you feel the same, Perrine?" Dick asked, lighting a cigarette.

Everyone looked at Perrine while she remained silent. After a minute, she said quietly, "Actually, I would like to go to the slums. There might be something I can do for the people there."

Dick leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs, tapping his chin at the same time, "Alright then, you two go to the slums and me and Eila will stay here."

Wolf spat her food out, "Wait, just me and the Gallian?!"

"You're going to leave me alone with that maniac?!" Perrine also shouted.

"Yep," Dick told them while he stared at a barmaid and a witch who were casually chatting. They must have been friends or something, "And that's my orders. We may be on leave but I'm still in charge."

* * *

"This place is so…" Perrine was saying as she and Wolf walked through the slums.

"Depressing," Wolf finished off for her. It was damp and cold, and the wind was blowing awfully strong. "I wish you would have gotten changed before coming out, those fancy clothes just make you a target… and me too."

Perrine seemed to ignore the comment about her clothes. "How can people's lives be seen as so meaningless to the government?"

Wolf laughed, "Have you paid any attention to the posters that line just about every wall in the city? Army is recruiting anyone with two legs and two arms at the moment, even some people with only one leg or one arm. Like I said at breakfast, defence comes first."

"But…oof!" a couple of kids ran into Wolf and Perrine.

Wolf caught one of them by the arms and lifted him into the air, saying firmly, "Give it back."

"Oi-Oi don't know what ya talkin' 'bout, lady," the kid squirmed in his cockney accent.

Wolf looked at Perrine, "Check your pockets, see what the other one took." She then drew her bayonet and held it against the boy's neck, "Give. It. Back."

"Uh… yeah, yeah, yeah…" he quickly rifled through his pockets, "He- here ya go, lady. Lucky oi found it for ya."

A tall woman approached Wolf and Perrine, carrying the other pick pocket by the scruff of his neck. She had hair the same colour as Lynne and eyes as golden as Wolf's own. "Does this belong to you?" she asked as she held up a small purse.

"That's mine," Perrine said with shock, and then snatched the purse back.

"Now that oi'm done, could ya let me down please, lady?" the kid squirmed.

"Hold on," Perrine said as she fished a couple of ponds out of her purse and gave one to each of the kids who were staring at her in shock.

"Thanks, lady!" the kid Wolf was holding said with a smile that split his face in two. The other kid simply beamed.

Wolf snatched the money back and dropped the kid, "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"I'm helping," Perrine told her, staring Wolf right in the eye.

"No, you're not, you're making these kids a target. People can see you giving them money. Some ruffians would beat the crap out of them and just take that money."

"She's right," the woman said, dropping the kid she was holding, "If you want to do some charity go to another city or do it in secret. This is not a friendly place."

"Which raises the question, why did you help us?" Wolf told the woman with an arched eyebrow.

"Call me a Good Samaritan… and I know that you have quite a large sum of money and expect a comparatively small portion of it as my reward."

Wolf grinned, "Pay the lady, Perrine."

Perrine grumbled something as she handed the woman some coins and notes.

"Thank you, m'lady," the woman said with a curtsy, and then walked off, waving behind her, "I'll see you around."

"What did she mean by that?" Perrine wondered aloud.

Wolf gave the Gallian a gentle hit on the shoulder, "Why the hell should I know?"

* * *

walked away from the two Witches, a slight smile touching her lips. She knew all that she needed about Wolf now. _She certainly isn't a She Wolf, that's for sure. She's a Hound_.

* * *

Richard flashed a smile as a barmaid passed by with a large pitcher, but turned his attentions to a tall Karlslander witch he was casually talking with, a witch who was not amused.

"Listen, bub, if you want to go find yourself a nice girl, then do so, but don't pretend to be interested in what I'm talking about at the same time."

"Sorry," Richard apologised, "I work on a base with a lot of witches that I'm not even allowed to think about that way."

She pointed a finger at him, "And you sure as hell better not try and think that way about me."

He held his hands up, "I wouldn't dream of it."

Now the witch glanced at another passing witch.

"Oh, so your eyes are allowed to linger?" he joked.

She winked at him, "I've been stuck in a panzer division for the last year and a half, I'm allowed to get a peek."

"RichardYeager!" a man shouted as he grabbed Richard's shoulder to turn him around. He was a tall man with short brown hair and brown eyes wearing a Liberian Navy uniform and proffering a broad smile, "Jesus bloody Christ, it is you!"

"Listen, y…" Richard started angrily before recognising the man, "Stuart?! StuartWeston?!"

"The bloody same! Haha!" the two men practically tackled each other when they embraced. The last time the two had seen each other was during basic training.

Richard pushed Stuart away and slapped the Navy emblem on his uniform, "when the hell did you join the Navy?"

"A couple of years back, but never mind that, how's your sister, she still single?"

Richard punched Stuart in the mouth, "You bastard, you know very well how I feel about you and my sister. I'll be damned if I let any scum like you near her."

Stuart rubbed his jaw, "Well, guess I deserved that. But is she well?"

"Yeah, she's doing fine," Richard grumbled, "Just don't mention it again or I'll have to beat the crap outta you."

"Fair enough. Listen, is there some place we can talk… in private?"

"There's a witch sleeping in my room but I'm her CO so I can kick her out… unless we go to your room."

"My room won't be suitable, better kick that witch out."

"I'll talk to you later," the witch grumbled angrily as she walked off.

"You're working at the working down at Dover with a JFW now, right?" Stuart asked as they walked to Richard's room.

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"Good looking girls in that one?"

Richard smacked his friend on the back of the head, "My sister's in that JFW. Besides, Wilcke and Sakamoto are in charge over there."

"As in _that_ Sakamoto, the one with the…?" Stuart pointed at his own eye.

Richard nodded.

Stuart shook his head in disbelief, "Christ, that must be fun. But I don't see what your problem would be with this Wilcke character."

"She may seem sweet, but she is anything but, even by Karlslander standards." Richard opened the door to his room and poked the sleeping Eila in the shoulder, "Get up, I need to talk to an old friend."

Eila yawned, grumbled something, and then got up and walked out.

"So, what's so important that you needed to speak in private?" Richard asked seriously as he sat on his bed. Stuart had never been a person that cared much what others thought of him, so wanting to speak in private normally meant it was something serious.

"I'll be blunt," Stuart said with a serious expression, "I'm not in the Navy, that's just my cover. I'm OSS and you're the only person in this city that I trust."

* * *

Unit 023 waited in the shadows as a tall Karlslander witch exited what the humans called a pub. Unit 023 was an Eliminator class Drone, or what the humans had undoubtedly called a 'human class Neuroi', the simpletons that they were. It had been given a very simple mission when compared to what it was capable of; eliminate low mass, high threat humans. The humans called them Witches for some reason. Unit 023 was of the rare variety of Drone that was actually self-aware and free thinking, sentient, and it knew very well that in human culture witches traditionally used magic. What the low mass, high threat humans did, while abnormal as far as human behaviour was concerned, was not magic, just a the ability to utilise a form of energy that was difficult to utilise even for an advanced race such as Unit 023's own.

The tall witch seemed to appear more aggressive than most that exited the building.

Unit 023 followed her around until she was sitting alone in an alley, a bottle of ethanol in her hands.

"Excuse me, mom?" Unit 023 said with a perfect Britannian, lower-class accent.

"Hmm, the heck do you want?" the witch grumbled.

"Spare a coin, mom?" Unit 023 limped its way over to the witch, looking every part the beggar it was modelled on. He had called himself Tom before he was killed if Unit 023's memory was uncorrupted.

The Karlslander witch shrugged and slurred, "Why the hell not," and then got a coin out her pocket and threw it to Unit 023.

It caught it and took one more step. Unit 023 was now within kill range. It produced two 0.85m blades that extended out its hands that remained aligned with its forearms, and launched itself from where it stood and throttled the woman through the chest, pinning her against the building behind her.

Blood gurgled from her mouth as she looked at the black, nanostructured alloy blades perforating her, and then up at Unit 023's face, blabbering. "Wha…why… who…?" then her eyes widened and a single word escaped her lips at the sudden realisation of what was attacking her, "…Neuroi…"

Unit 023 pulled both blades in the opposite direction, ripping the witch in two.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

* * *

Wolf stumbled as she helped carry the drunken Perrine up the stairs to their shared room. It was their second night in London and Wolf had managed to get a few drinks into both Perrine and Eila. Eila had at least had the good sense enough to pace herself once she found out, Perrine on the other hand… the Gallian could not handle her alcohol and was tipsy after the first drink. Completely out of it by her third.

"Why am I… going up the stairs?" Perrine slurred, "I… want to speak to Major… Sakamoto… where's…?"

"The Major isn't here," Wolf told Perrine for the umpteenth time. All night Perrine had been asking to speak to the Major.

"Where did… she go?"

"She was never here, Perrine. Alright, here's the room. Let's get you to bed."

"But I don't… want to go to bed."

Wolf laid Perrine down on her bed, "If you want to go back down stairs, you're quite welcome to, but you'll have to navigate your way off the bed, out the door, through the hall, and down the stairs." Wolf chuckled, "I'll be back with a jug of water. You'll drink it all unless you want a hangover in the morning."

Perrine was snoring by the time Wolf got to the door.

"Evening," Mary who Wolf and Perrine had met the other day said as she leaned on the door frame, causing Wolf to all but jump out of her skin and half draw her bayonet. _How did she manage to sneak up on me, I smell and hear everyone?!_

"You shouldn't sneak up on me," Wolf warned the woman.

"Not many people that _can_ sneak up on you are there, Wolf?"

This set off all sorts of alarms in wolf's head. "What do you mean by that?"

"I know what you are, even if you don't," the woman said. "Get the water for your Gallian friend; I'll be waiting right out the front for you."

Wolf shook her head and walked off to get the water. After she left the water by Perrine's side, waking the girl and making sure she drank all of it, Wolf went back down stairs and stayed there, socialising with some other witches and a few of the soldiers. There was a particularly attractive Karlslander lad who she thought she might be sharing a room with that night, when Mary was suddenly beside her, saying sternly, "I thought I told you to meet me out the front." Wolf opened her mouth to speak, but Mary turned to the Karlslander lad, "I'm afraid you're barking up the wrong tree here, buddy, this girly…" Mary thumbed Wolf, "… likes to make a game out of stringing guys along. Don't worry, I'll beat it out of her."

The lad stormed off muttering curses at Wolf and to himself.

"What the hell did you do that for you stupid cow?!"

Mary shrugged, "That guy looks like a slightly younger version of that Liberian ginger you were with the other day at the library."

"How do you…?"

"I'll explain outside," Mary said seriously, "less people to eavesdrop."

Wolf followed the woman outside, ready to beat the crap out of her. Especially for saying that the Karlslander lad looked like Dick, the very thought of something like that made her feel sick to her stomach. The woman led her to a dark alley. I_ can see fine, but does this woman _want_ to be jumped?_

"I know what you're thinking," Mary said all of a sudden, "You're wondering why I would lead you into this dark alley where we'll likely get jumped." She pointed at her eyes, eyes of the same golden colour as Wolf's, and smiled, "I'm a She Wolf, I can see in the dark as well as you can, so that won't be a problem."

"A She Wolf… is that what I am, a She Wolf, is that what someone like me is called?"

Mary laughed, "Dear lord, no. If you were a She Wolf, you would have disguised you scent when you entered the library the other day. No. You, I've got you pegged as a Hound. You're not a bad shot, would I be correct?"

Wolf nodded, wondering where the woman might be going and gripping her bayonet in case things got violent between the two.

"I thought so," Mary mused, rubbing her chin, and then her tone turned very serious, "I need your help. There's someone or something hunting witches and I don't think I can stop them alone. So, want to join my Wolf Pack?"

"What do you mean 'Wolf Pack'?" Wolf asked, worried that the woman may have lost her mind. People don't hunt witches.

"It's the name His majesty's Secret Service uses to describe a group of people like ourselves. Wolves in human form if you will. Most of us don't have enough magic to operate even the simplest Striker units or are over the recruitment age, so we are put to use as agents of espionage and sabotage. There are several classifications, such as Hound and She Wolf. These two can operate well on their own and in a pack, there are also Alpha Males, Alpha Females, Mongrels and Pups. Each one is better at something than the others. The Royal Family have been using Wolf Packs for decades. Now, are you going to join my pack?" Mary offered her hand and Wolf could finally smell the woman. She smelt trustworthy, honest. Wolf could also smell and hear four men approaching.

"There are…"

"Yeah, I hear them." She pulled out a small knife and sprouted a Wolf's ears and tail and Wolf's ears and tail. Wolf did the same, drawing her bayonet rather than a small knife though.

"'Ello, ello, what 'ave we 'ere, lads," a confident man in a patchy coat said.

Wolf bared her teeth but Mary put her hand in front and said just loud enough for Wolf to hear, "Let's try and do this without bloodshed." She then shouted to the men, "We don't have any money if that's what you're after, so you best be on your way."

"I'm 'fraid, little lady, money ain't what we're 'ere for," a man, also in a patchy coat with the addition of a rough beard said, "A couple o' defenceless ladies walkin' 'round in the dark, it ain't safe. Think maybe ya need a bit o' company."

"Try it and I'll cut your nuts off," Wolf warned, a low growl coming from her throat.

The men approached armed with cudgels of varying degrees of dangerousness.

"We run," Mary whispered.

"Like hell," Wolf whispered back, "Fuckers wanna fuck with us then let's fuck 'em up. You want me to join your pack then let's fight as a pack."

"I'm the She Wolf, you're the Hound," Mary said with a low growl, "I'm the closest to an Alpha so you follow me."

The men started circling the pair of bickering witches, the women standing back to back.

"I don't work with someone if I don't think they can fight. This's your chance to prove yourself… no backing down now anyway."

"Talk about being up shit creek without a paddle," Mary muttered from behind Wolf.

"'Nough talk," a man that was in a coat that was more grimy than patchy sneered, "Oi think it's toim for a little fun." His yellow toothed grin split his face in two as he lurched forward with his cudgel raised above his head.

Wolf stepped around the man and sliced his side. She stepped to the side again to avoid a blow from his moustached friend and slashed him across the chest. The man held a hand against his chest and stared at Wolf in horror, horror that turned to rage. He lunged at Wolf again. She ducked under the attack and sliced the man's throat.

Wolf looked at Mary who was pulling her knife out of a bearded man, looking at the corpse with obvious disdain.

"You follow my orders to the letter now, got it," Mary snapped.

"Yes, ma'am," Wolf said, going to attention and saluting.

"Don't salute me," Mary sneered, "We don't salute in the Secret Service. And we don't kill unless we have to, you got that?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"And stop calling me "ma'am". I'm not a ma'am. Meet me at the library tomorrow morning."

"Okay," Wolf said as Mary walked off, leaving Wolf with the bodies. The younger Witch wiped some blood from her cheek and then looked at her shirt, which had spatters of blood on the front. "This'll be fun to explain."

* * *

Richard noticed Wolf's bloody shirt when she entered the pub and he immediately rushed over to her, much to the anger of the Britannian witch he was chatting up. "Are you alright? What happened?"

"I'm fine, boss," she told him, waving the notion of her being injured away, "I ran into a couple of ruffians is all, nothing serious."

"What where you doing out on the street?"

"I needed some fresh air."

Richard gave her a concerned look.

"I grew up in this town, remember? I can handle myself. Okay, I need a lager and it's your shout," the witch said, walking off to the bar.

Richard shook his head, wondering if she had merely hurt the ruffians or if she had outright killed them.

"Where's Eila?" Wolf asked after Richard had ordered the drinks.

Richard looked around, "I'm… not sure. She was here a minute ago talking with a… oh," He grinned, "She might be getting lucky."

The was a crash behind the talking pair and both of them turned around to see Eila holding a fully grown man off the ground by his collar and wailing on his face with her fist, shouting something unintelligible.

Richard jumped into action, "Wolf, you get Ei-"

"No," the Britannian witch said, holding Richard back with a single hand and leaning back on the bar, an evil smile crossing her face, "I want to see how this plays out."

"You will let go of me now, Sergeant."

She shook her head and then nodded at the fight, "Look."

Richard turned his attentions back to Eila, who had thrown the man to the ground and was now settling for simple yelling at him. Well, she had settled for kicking and screaming until a buxom Britannian witch was holding her back, "… Bastard! You want to say that sort of shit?! Who do you think…?"

"I think I like this Eila. Maybe I'll go drinking with her more often," Wolf laughed, releasing Richard before finishing her beer and asking the bar tender for another.

Richard shook his head and walked over to the still yelling Eila and tried to order her to be quiet to no avail.

"Want me to give her a dip in the Thames?" the buxom Witch asked.

"Just a bucket of water will do for this one, thanks," Richard told the woman.

She flashed him a smile and said, "No problem, sir," before carrying a kicking and screaming Eila out the back where there were probably some cold buckets of water.

"Anyone know what set her off?" Richard asked as most people began to return to their business.

"Stupid fucking bitch just started attacking me," the grown man grunted as someone helped him up.

A Karlslander Witch at the table next to where the scene had transpired leaned back in her chair and said, "If you weren't being such a dick she wouldn't have attacked you, Flieger."

_An Airman, huh? That makes him a member of the Luftwaffe_, Dick thought. "What did you say _exactly_, Flieger?"

"I didn't say anything, she was coming onto me and was getting real friendly, and then she just started raving-"

Richard punched the man in the face, "You piece of shit, you think I don't know my own god damn witches?"

"Watch it, pal," the witch who had identified the Flieger said, catching Richard's hand as he went to punch the stunned Karlslander man, "That man is under my command, so I'll be dealing out the punishment, not you."

"Tell me, what's your rank, because I'm a Wing Commander?"

"Hauptmann, sir," the witch said, getting up and saluting, "But with all due respect, sir, we are off duty and as such the Flieger is my responsibility. I would appreciate it if you left him to me."

"You should have done a better job at controlling him."

"I'm not letting some Yankee at my men," the Hauptmann said angrily, "if you lay another finger on him-"

"Watch it Kraut," Wolf warned, appearing by Richard's side, "he may be an ass but he's still my CO, and Eila is my comrade and a valuable asset, so I think your man needs to be corrected and you need to stand the hell down, ma'am."

Richard put a hand in front of Wolf, "Calm down, Sergeant…"

Richard trailed off as a dozen other Karlslanders stood up including three witches, a couple of them carrying handguns.

"I got your back, buddy," Stuart said, putting a hand on Richard's shoulder and smiling.

"Listen, I'm not trying to cause any trouble," Richard said, holding his hands up and trying to disarm the situation, "But if you want to fight then let's just do it between you and me, outside."

"You know she's a witch right?" Wolf asked Richard, though she bared her teeth at the Karlslanders still.

Richard flashed her a grin, "Yeah, but I need to defend my witches don't I? A Gentleman always defends a lady's honour, even against other ladies."

Wolf turned around and forcefully turned Richard around so that both of them had their backs to the Karlslanders. "All this heroic stuff is kind of nice and all, Dick," Wolf whispered, "But she's a witch. You saw what Eila did to that man, and this Witch looks _much_ stronger than Eila. Listen, I'll take the witches while-"

"I'm serious," Richard whispered, interrupting the Wolf, "We could all be thrown out onto the street if we have a big brawl. Not to mention how many others will get caught and the court-martial to come after."

"Then I'll take her on."

"You sound like you're upset that I'm going to get hurt?"

"Perrine is asleep, and Eila is getting sobered up, who do you think is going to have to drag your bruised arse to a hospital? Besides, wouldn't be setting a good example for you to go and get into a fight."

"Sending my Sergeant out to fight for me isn't a much better example. The Commander and the Major would have my balls if I let you guys fight anyway."

Stuart stuck his head been the two members of the 501st, "I don't mean to be rude, but are you two gonna take long? I think the Krauts are getting antsy."

* * *

Eila inhaled deeply as her head was lifted out of a freezing barrel of water.

"Sober yet?" a Britannian woman asked, holding Eila's dripping head.

"Y- yeah…" Eila got out between breaths before her head was dunked in the freezing bucket of water again. "What… the hell?!" Eila shouted while trying to breath, shaking herself free of the Britannian.

"Sorry," the buxom woman laughed, "just wanted to make sure."

Eila rolled over and sat on the cold pavement, running a hand through her wet hair, "was that really necessary?"

The buxom woman crossed her arms with a smile, "That Wing Commander's orders. I would have thrown you in the Thames if I'd had my way. What did that Karlslander in there say to warrant such a response, anyway?"

"That ass was bad talking Orussia and Suomus and being generally sexist. Gees, he had a filthy mouth. Some of the stuff he said…" Eila shook both her fist and her head, "Someone needed to hit him."

"Sounds like he had it coming," the Britannian agreed, holding her hand out to help Eila up, "Flight Sergeant Robinson, by the way."

"Pilot Officer Juutilainen," Eila informed the Flight Sergeant as she was helped up.

"Oh… ah…" Flight Sergeant Robinson blabbered, "Sorry about the cold water, mom."

Eila rolled up her sleaves and grinned mischievously, "Well, let's just say you owe me one?"

"Yes, mom."


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

* * *

Wolf awoke with a massive headache and an arm around her side. Despite the pain and despite not being able to remember anything past Eila wailing on the KarlslanderFlieger, she at least knew that she had gotten lucky. And drunk, the headache and lack of memory were proof of that. She moved the hand slowly so that she wouldn't wake the man and went to get up. The moment she was upright the pain in her head increased a thousand fold and she had to sit back down.

The man grumbled something and Wolf turned to look at him, wondering who she had slept with, and nearly emptied her stomach. She would recognise that orange hair anywhere. "Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god!" She paced up and down the room, wondering what to do, "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! There's no way… no, no… we couldn't have…?"

Dick opened his eyes and raised his head with a smile, "Good…" he trailed off and the smile faded as he looked at Wolf's naked form and then quickly looked away, as Wolf threw the nearest loose object, a chair, at his head. She could hear him muttering, "Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck!"

"The hell is wrong with you?!" Wolf growled at him as she quickly pulled her clothes on, continuing to throw things at Dick, "You fucking… you…. ARGH!"

"I can't remember shit!" Dick yelled back, still looking away, "For all I know you seduced me!"

Wolf jumped and put both hands around his throat, "I can't fucking remember anything either, so you shut your fucking mouth you piece of shit, I'll fucking kill you! You fucking take advantage of me while I'm pissed and expect me not to fucking do anything?!"

Wolf gritted her teeth and let go, practically throwing the man as she did so. If she killed him she'd have some explaining to do to the bobbies. Better off to let the Major and the Commander know when they get back to the base, _then_Wolf would be allowed to kill him.

"Get some fucking clothes o…" Wolf looked at the equally angry man and noticed he had several bruises on your face and her voice grew more concerned than angry, "When did you get those?"

"Get those what?" Dick growled.

"Those bruises all over your face," she answered angrily, "the hell would I be talking about?"

He went to get up out of bed and flinched, "Argh… shit."

Wolf jumped onto the bed, not a hint of anger left in her voice, all of it being replaced with concern, "What is it?"

He pulled back the covers to reveal a large scar. He hadn't had any wounds the previous day, which meant that he received them in the time that neither could remember and was healed by a medical Witch, there was no other explanation for a wound that looked like it was received days, even weeks ago, suddenly appearing. Wolf jabbed the wound with her finger tips.

Dick flinched, "Don't bloody poke it."

"Sorry." Wolf got off the bed and held both fists against her head, no longer able to ignore her headache. "Okay, I'm going down stairs to drink a few gallons of water and take a dip in the Thames to get rid of this hangover. Be down stairs when I get back and let's see if we can figure out what happened."

Wolf promptly left the room and went downstairs where the bar keeper at the time grinned at her, "You drank a lot last night, how do you feel?"

"Worse than you look," she grumbled at him, "are there any barrels of water out the back?"

He nodded, "yeah, help yourself."

Wolf went out the back of the building into what would once have been a stable and found the buckets… and Eila chatting with a Britannian witch.

"Good morning, Wolf," Eila greeted with a broad smile, "have a…"

Wolf held up her hand to signal silenced, walked over to one of the barrels full of water, and dunked her head. She stayed under for at least a minute, feeling completely sober when she brought her head back up, the other two witches looking at her in surprise. "Now, Eila, what were you saying?"

"I was just going to ask if you had a good night," Eila said slowly.

"I wouldn't know," Wolf said as she began to walk back inside, "I can't remember anything past you attacking the Kraut."

When Wolf got back inside, she found Dick talking to the bar keeper.

"Good morning, sunshine," Perrine said, appearing seemingly out of nowhere with a cruel smile.

"What do you want, Gallian?" Wolf asked flatly, "I'm very busy."

Perrine sneered and held her head, "You drank way more than me, why don't you have a hang over?!"

"Go soak your head," Wolf suggested.

"How dare you…?!"

"Don't get your knickers in a twist and look at my hair. Notice how it's wet?" Wolf said condescendingly, just as the Gallian would have if their roles were reversed.

"Oh… well…" Perrine seemed to be at a loss for words.

"There're barrels full of water out the back. Go take a dip," Wolf ordered, pointing her thumb at the back door, "You flaked out last night but maybe you'll get lucky tonight if you can stay concious."

Perrine glowered as she walked away and Wolf couldn't help but smile. It was so easy to get Perrine riled.

Wolf walked over to Dick and he turned away from the bartender "Apparently we made quite a ruckus last night."

"How so?"

Dick grimaced, "Barman said he didn't know. He just got here this morning and heard talk about a Liberian officer that fits my description getting in a fight with a Karlslander witch. And then someone matching your description saved his ass."

"Well, looks like you owe me one," Wolf grinned, putting her hands on her hips and puffing out her chest proudly.

"Like I said, they match our descriptions, but until we get a witness to confirm it, I don't owe you anything."

"Piss off; you probably owe me your life."

"Nothing to confirm it," Dick laughed, crossing his arms.

Wolf shook her head, "Well then, we look for the kraut. She'll know what happened as long as I didn't hurt her too badly."

"I doubt it," Dick grumbled, "We weren't arrested after all."

Wolf rubbed her chin, "I remember you ordering a well endowed Britannian to take Eila out the back and sober her up, either her or Eila might remember what happened."

Dick looked around, "I don't see either of them here. I don't suppose there's any chance you can sniff them out?"

"They're out the back; I saw them when I took a dip."

Dick walked towards the back, whistling sharply and clicking his fingers by his side as if telling a dog to heal.

"Bloody son of a bitch," she mumbled under her breath.

* * *

Eila was out the back of the pub talking with Flight Sergeant Robinson when Perrine walked out and dunked her head in an open barrel of water.

"Do all you guys from the Five-Oh-One do that to sober up?" Robinson asked.

"We don't get drunk that often," Eila told her, contemplating whether or not to push Perrine all the way into the barrel. "Except for maybe Hartmann, she's not so secretly an alcoholic. But she has some sort of cocktail with a raw egg in it that she uses."

"I know that trick," Robinson muttered, tapping her chin, "It does the job but tastes like shit."

Perrine inhaled deeply as she pulled her head out the barrel and then slumped over it.

"What's wrong…?!" Robinson started shouting, before quietly asking Eila, "What's her name again?"

"Perrine H. Clostermann," Eila answered, "Gallian, Pilot Officer."

"What's wrong, Clostermann, drink too much?!" Robinson shouted.

Perrine answered by dunking her head again.

"Not a heavy drinker, eh?" Robinson chuckled.

"This is her second time drinking I think."

Perrine pulled her head out the barrel and shook her head around, trying to get as much water out of her hair as possible. "I've been drinking many times before, thank you."

Eila crossed her arms, "Since when. No way a 'proper' girl like yourself has been drinking before Wolf took us all to the pub and started that bar fight."

"I've had wine lot's of times!"

"What, a single glass?"

Perrine opened her mouth but obviously didn't know what to say.

"Point for Juutilainen," Robinson said, high fiving Eila.

"Clever," Commander Yeager deadpanned from the doorway.

"You're up early to, eh, sir?" Eila asked casually.

Robinson on the other hand jumped from her barrel, went to attention and saluted, "Good morning, sir."

"No need for any of that… uh…"

"Flight Sergeant Robinson."

"No need for any of that Flight Sergeant, we're all off duty here." He then whistled as if ordering a dog to heel.

Wolf pushed past the Wing Commander, "Whistle like that again, and I cut you."

"Hello again, Wolf, come back to pretty yourself up some more like Perrine?" Eila teased.

"We're actually here on business," the Wing Commander said, "Wolf and myself had a bit much to drink, and well, you two were sober for longer than us. You remember what happened?"

Robinson grinned, "You, your friend and Golden Eyes there came out here with those Karlslanders and you were in a fight with the Hauptmann. She handed you your ass. She was about to hospitalise you when Golden Eyes there stepped in. I tell you, did she do a number on the Hauptman. The other Karlslanders stepped in and pulled guns on you. Your Yank friend also pulled a gun and Golden Eyes here nearly bit his arm off. She then _actually_ bit one of the Karlslanders, kicked another in the head." She shook her head and looked at Wolf, "You were pretty vicious, sent all of them to the hospital. Lucky for you I was able to talk the MPs into just arresting the Karlslanders."

"It was more the fact that they didn't want to go near Wolf," Eila corrected, "That Karlslander you bit, you tore out a sizable chunk of his bicep, and you still had bits of it hanging off your teeth, a number of which were sharp… it was pretty scary."

Wolf pocked the underside of one of her teeth, "You mean my canines?"

Eila shook her head, "No, they're already sharp." She ran her fingers across her front teeth, "Incisors."

"Wow, that's pretty cool." She actually beamed at the Wing Commander, "Doncha think, Dick?"

"I think it sounds quite terrifying," Commander Yeager said flatly, "Kinda glad I don't remember."

"Makes me glad I was unconscious," Perrine commented, sitting in a small puddle against the bucket.

"Was that all we did that night?" Commander Yeager asked.

Robinson rubbed her chin, "Well, after the MPs left and… Wolf was it…? Wolf stopped growling like some kind of rabid animal you two and your Yank friend went inside and Pilot Officer Juutilainen and I stayed out here. We haven't actually been inside yet."

"You stayed up all night?!" Perrine yelled with disbelief.

"Of course not," Eila scoffed, "But I can confidently say I understand why Lucchini is always sleeping on Shirley's bust, it's pretty comfy."

"So did you two…" Wolf pointed between Eila and Robinson.

"God no!" Robinson nearly screamed, waving her hands in front of her, "No offence to the Pilot Officer, but I just don't go that way."

"And I'm saving myself for someone," Eila added.

"Don't say it like it's some big mystery," Perrine grumbled, "we all know who it is so stop dancing around it."

"Go swoon over Major Sakamoto," Eila shot.

* * *

Wolf grabbed the back of Dick's shirt and dragged him inside, leaving Perrine and Eila to argue.

"Let's go find you 'Yank friend'," Wolf ordered.

"Don't forget who the officer is here," Dick smirked.

"Don't forget who grew up here," Wolf countered.

"And his name's Stuart."

"Whatever his name is, we need to find him."

"We'll wait around the bar, he'll be there eventually. The guy's an alcoholic if ever I saw one."

"I can't afford to wait around, there's somewhere I've got to be."

"Some hot date? Seducing me not enough?" he laughed.

Wolf elbowed him in the stomach, "Next time I go for the kill." She checked her pocket watch, "Shit, I've got to go."

* * *

Unit 023 watched as another witch exited the pub and began his pursuit, following her to the less financially secure district of London. She was a witch that looked closer to an adolescent male than an adolescent female.

_NEW DIRECTIVE INCOMING. DECRYPTING TRANSMISSION. NEW DIRECTIVE RECEIVED._

Unit 023 halted its pursuit of the witch and returned to the shadows.

_High priority target added: King George VI of Britannia. Further data pending. Additional units dispatched to assist._

Unit 023 then sent its own message back.

_CONFIRM DIRECTIVE CHANGE. FOLLOWING PREVIOUS DIRECTIVE UNTIL FURTHER DATA AND ASSISTANCE ARRIVES._

* * *

"You know what I mean by 'morning' don't you?" Mary growled when Wolf got to the library, finding Mary in her room.

Wolf checked her pocket watch, "It's only half nine."

"That's four and a half hours gone. When I say morning, I mean five." Mary sighed, "What weapons do you have access to?"

"Just this," Wolf told her, drawing her bayonet.

"That won't do, you'll need a handgun. Follow me," Mary said, walking out and up the stairs to the second level, then to a set of shelves, "I've got weapons and ammo hidden all over this place. This library is our fallback point if there is ever trouble. Once here, use your superior agility and speed to get to a weapon and get around the back of the enemy and take them out." She grabbed a book off the shelf and opened, revealing a revolver and eighteen large bullets. She then handed the book with its contents to Wolf, "This is a Colt New Service revolver chambered for .455 Welbey."

Wolf noted that 'NEW SERVICE .455 ELEY' was stamped on the side.

"You keep that and the spare ammo with you at all times from now on, got it?"

"Yes, m…" Wolf only just stopped herself saying ma'am.

Mary began pointing to several spots in the library, "You'll find more revolvers and ammo there, there, there, there, there and there."

"What exactly are we fighting?" Wolf asked. From what she remembered, the .455 Welbey had a lot of stopping power, and if there were several guns chambered for it, then whatever they were fighting was powerful. On top of that, there were several other revolvers that were much more common than the Colt New Service such as the Enfield Revolver and Welbey Revolver.

"Something is killing witches in the city," Mary said, leading Wolf back down the stairs, "Most of the deaths are of witches staying at your pub."

"Something? You mean like a Neuroi?"

"I don't know," Mary admitted. "I've got a source in the local police, but so far I haven't been told much of value."

"I don't think I'll be much help until we find 'it', then I can get a fix on him and take him out from seven hundred yards if you put a rifle in my hands."

"Actually, you are going to be a lot of help. While I am aware that you are trained as a pilot and soldier, not an investigator, I believe a fresh view on the situation will be helpful. Come on, I got word of another victim earlier, you're coming with me to the site."


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

* * *

Wolf rolled her shoulders in the trench coat Mary had bought for her on the way to the crime scene, after buying herself one. It was a rather expensive coat that went all the way down to her knees , and warm too.

"Not that I'm complaining or anything, but why are they so long?" Wolf asked, the cold wind being more cutting than usual.

"Try hiding a Lee-Enfield in anything shorter," Mary muttered, "Put your serious face on, time for work."

They walked over to an alley that was being guarded by two bobbies.

"Evening, gents," Mary greeted, tipping her fedora to the men.

"Mornin', mom," they greeted, tipping their own helmets.

Wolf simply inclined her head as she passed them. She sniffed the air, "I can smell Neuroi… different to usual though."

"So that's what that scent is?" Mary mused, walking over to a covered body.

"You never smelt the Neuroi before?"

"I've never had the chance." She looked questioningly at a detective that seemed to have been waiting.

The detective nodded, "As far as we can tell, the killer used the same bladed weapons he did for the other victims. This one isn't pretty." He kneeled by the body and lifted the covering so that Mary and Wolf could look under.

The girl only looked young, too young to have been allowed in a pub as rowdy as the one Wolf had been in the previous night.

"We've been able to identify her as Sergeant OliviaFrancisPerdomo, fifteen years old. Part of the 464th Fighter Squadron. She's _supposed _to be in Okinawa. Real shame."

"The injuries?" Mary pressed, getting the man back on track.

"Right. Deep lacerations along right leg, three ribs fractured on the right side, a further four sliced clean through. We suspect the puncture wound through her chest caused her to drown in her own blood. Her knuckles are bruised, which would indicate she put up a fight. Brocken left wrist so her attacker grabbed her and had a strong grip. I'd say we're looking at quite a tall man with some exotic weapons. Probably a refugee." He dropped the cover back over the corpse.

"Who found the body?"

"A few homeless kids looking for some sort of reward. We're holding them down at the station for questioning. I'll let 'em know to hold the kids till you've gotten the chance to question them."

"Thank you, inspector. Mind giving us a minute to look over the area?"

The detective nodded and walked over to the two men guarding the alley.

"What do you see and smell, Wolf?" Mary asked once the detective was well out of earshot.

Wolf sniffed the air again, "Same Neuroi smell, thought it's not like the normal Neuroi smell. And blood." She looked around, "Blood all over the place, only a little here and there though, I'm not surprised the bobbies missed it."

Mary grimaced, "looks that way. Let's have a look at the Sergeant, maybe she will be able to tell us something.

Wolf lifted the cover all the way off the dead girl and picked up her arm, sniffing her broken wrist. "Blood… but the Neuroi smell is off somehow."

"What do you mean?"

"It smells more… human."

Mary rubbed her chin, "Well isn't that interesting." She raised an eyebrow, "Did I say stop sniffing? Other wounds, come on."

Wolf bared her teeth angrily and dropped the arm, then sniffed the chest wound. "She's cooked on the inside."

"You sure?"

Wolf gestured at the corpse and said rudely, "Why don't you take a bloody look?"

Mary leaned down and sniffed the chest wound, and then poked it, "Yep, that's cooked on the inside. Keep sniffing."

Wolf nodded and kept sniffing, going to the sliced open knee. It was nothing unusual. No burning or anything, just a regular cut. Albeit a very good cut that had gone clean through the bone.

She moved onto the other leg, which had nothing abnormal either, then moved up the body, not finding anything odd until she got to the head, screwing up her nose.

"Something wrong," Mary asked.

Wolf pinched her nose, "If I'd have to guess, I'd say she isn't in Okinawa because of a 'romantic' rendezvous here."

"Do you have evidence to support your theory?"

"There's… stuff… around her mouth."

"Ah, yes, I see. Well, learn anything else?"

Wolf shook her head.

Mary wrote some stuff down in a notebook. "Let's go to the station and question the little scamps."

* * *

It was nearly twelve when Stuart showed up at the bar and Richard was ready to knock him out, "Where the hell have you been?!"

Stuart raised his hands defensively, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down, I was out working. And how was I supposed to know you were waiting for me?"

Richard lit a cigarette and sat on empty bar stool, "Another one, eh?" The night Stuart had told Richard he was in the OSS he had told him why he was in London. Someone or something was killing witches, a lot of whom were Liberians.

Stuart nodded and sat next to Richard, "One of ours, a kid. Never mind that now," he smiled, "What did you need from me?"

Richard took a long drag from his cigarette, "I can't remember anything after saving that Kraut's ass from Eila last night, think you can fill in the blanks? And I already heard about the fight out back, I want to know what happened after."

"Well, I dragged you and ol' Wolf back in here so that you could lick your wounds. Wolf was pretty worried. Apparently those Karlslanders had been real asses so there were a few happy people buying you drinks. Might still be able to cash in on a few…"

"Focus," Richard ordered.

"Right. Well, you and Wolf seemed to be getting pretty… _cosy_ by the end of the night." Stuart chuckled and nudged Richard with is elbow, "I didn't think that was your sort of girl."

Richard smacked Stuart on the back of the head, "Stop dicking around. What really happened?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die, that's the solid truth, friend. If I hadn't offered up my room you two would've been at it in the middle of here."

Richard took his cigarette out of his mouth and let his head drop onto the bar. "Scotch!" he shouted from the bar-top, raising his arm in the air.

* * *

"Just in here, mom," a bobbie said, leading Wolf and Mary to the kids that had found the murdered Liberian Sergeant.

"Holy shit," Wolf said slowly when she saw who the kids were; the pick pockets who had tried to take from her and Perrine.

"Oh no," one of the kids mumbled, covering his face with his small hat, clearly remembering the witches' faces.

"Isn't this an interesting turn of events?" Mary said cockily, sitting backwards on a chair across from the kids. The kids couldn't see it, but Mary was signing her instructions to Wolf. _You're nasty. I'm nice. Do what you need to, we won't be disturbed._

Wolf crossed her arms and leaned near the door, arranging her coat so that the kids could clearly see that she was armed.

"I know you're the kids that I caught pick pocketing and that tried to steal from my friend there," Mary began, "And you know that we are well within our rights to press charges. But, we're willing to let that go if you tell us exactly what you saw."

"We ain't talkin' to no bobbies," the kid that Wolf had caught said, crossing his arms and acting like a tough guy.

Wolf concentrated for a moment, trying to make her teeth sharp again like she allegedly had the previous night to no avail. Instead she drew her bayonet and used to pick food out of her teeth, talking around it, "We're also well within out rights to beat the crap outta you."

"Ya woul'n't do a thing loike that!" the other kid shot nervously, tightly clenching his fists on the table.

"What my associate is trying to say," Mary said, feigning anger, "is that we can't help you if you don't help us."

The kids remained silent.

Wolf put her bayonet away and drew her revolver, firing and only just missing the nervous kid's hand.

"What the hell are you doing!" Mary snapped, turning to her back to the kids and winking while she continued her tirade, "You can't just shoot at them!"

"We're in the middle of a war," Wolf replied calmly, "these kids aren't contributing anything, and they're just another pair of mouths to feed so we should dispose of them."

Mary sat back down and looked at the kids, "she has a point. Maybe it would be for the best if you don't have anything to contribute-"

"We found 'er just lyin' there!" the kid that had first spoken interrupted frantically, "we knew she was dead so we was goin' though 'er pockets, lookin' for stuff we could sell, but we di'n't foind anything an' we knew she was a witch so we thought there would be some sorta reward for tellin' the bobbies!"

"You didn't see anyone else?" Mary asked.

The other kid shook his head, "No one, we just came across 'er!"

"Guess I don't get to kill today," Wolf sighed, putting her revolver back in her jacket.

"Thank you for your help, kids," Mary said, her voice now sickeningly sweat, "We'll make sure you get a warm meal before we send you on your way."

"Y… ya not gonna send us to an orphanage?" the first one asked slowly, shocked.

Mary shook her head, "You'd probably try and break out, plus they're already full."

"Besides," Wolf added, "I grew up on the street and I turned out pretty good."

Mary got up and the two silently walked out.

"That was a pretty good shot," Mary said after arranging a warm meal for the kids with the police chief.

"The sights are off and I didn't realise how powerful the revolver was," Wolf informed her.

"You mean…?"

Wolf nodded, "I missed."

* * *

Wolf crossed her legs on the table while she munched on a meat pie across from Mary. The wind and the clouds had let up for a moment and it turned out to be quite a nice day, so the two of them had decided to take a break and have lunch outside. Mary had suggested a pie shop that was a little out of the way and Wolf had seen no reason not to check it out.

"I've got a question," Wolf said around her pie, "About… people like us."

Mary finished her mouthful of pie, "Shoot."

"Well…" Wolf looked around to make sure no one was in earshot and then spoke quietly anyway, "I don't remember much from last night, but apparently my front teeth grew sharp and I bit a chunk out of a Karlslander… is that even possible?"

Mary nodded, "That just confirms my suspicions that you're a Hound. The men-at-arms of the Wolf Packs."

"How do I… make it happen again?" Wolf took her feet off the table and leaned in conspiratorially, "I tried to do it at the station to intimidate the kids, but couldn't."

"Most of the Hounds I know had to train under someone to learn all their skills," Mary replied casually, "Don't get me wrong, it'll all come naturally, but it'll take time. You're still a puppy."

"I'm seventeen," Wolf pointed out dryly.

"Relative to how long wolves live compared to humans, you're still a pup. I could teach you though. After this of course. There's a lot you don't know. I tell you, if it were people we were fighting instead of strange alien things, Wolf Packs would be at the forefront, not the other Witches."

Wolf took another bite of her pie and leaned back, "What makes you say that?"

"If your soldiers can bite people's throats out, wouldn't that make a pretty good shock trooper? Wouldn't need the magical output of other witches, just charge a trench, move erratically so the machine guns don't get a bead on you, and start shooting and biting."

Wolf nodded, "Good point. Plus they can sniff out ambushes."

"Bingo."

* * *

Unit 023 sat in gutter, begging for coins.

_NEW MESSAGE RECEIVED. DECRYTING MESSAGE._

It had received tactical data on the RoyalPalace as well as the number of guards and their routes. All that was missing was the Royal schedule, but with the assistance it was about to receive, that would be easy to acquire.

_NEW MESSAGE RECEIVED. DECRYTING MESSAGE._

_Units 874, Unit 635, Unit771, Unit 494, Unit 091, Unit 100, Unit 876, Unit 089, Unit 152, Unit 633, Unit 457 and Unit 279 in the city. Awaiting orders._

Unit 023 found this interesting. If its records on those units were up to date, Unit 023 had enough firepower under its command to eliminate the city if it acted correctly and carefully, burn it down from within. It could not construct a logical argument as to why the controllers did not want the city eliminated. But directives were directives, and Unit 023 would follow whatever directives it was given.

_SEND MESSAGE._

_Unit 874 and Unit 876 begin anti-witch operations. Unit 279, begin clean-up operations. Unit 100, Unit 091 and Unit 089 begin data gathering operations. All other units remain on standby._

_MESSAGE SENT._

_CONFIRMATION OF DIRECTIVE CHANGES RECEIVED. ALL UNITS FOLLOWING NEW DIRECTIVES._

* * *

"I don't think you'll be much more use today," Mary muttered as she and Wolf walked down the once again windy street, "Why don't you head on back to that Liberian guy you've fallen for."

"You may be my boss, but I will still cut you," Wolf warned.

"I've been in this business for eight years," Mary said smugly, "I know a love sick puppy when I see one. I've been one too, so I know _all_ the signs."

Wolf drew her bayonet and bared her teeth at Mary. Everyone on the street gave the pair a wide birth. "I'm warning you…!"

"Warn all you want, pup, I know what's going on. I'll prove it, bring out your familiar."

Wolf narrowed her eyes.

"Come on, it's an order."

Wolf released a little bit of magic, just enough or her familiar to appear.

"They guy's name is RichardYeager, right? Orange hair, mid twenties, smokes a lot?" Mary waited for a moment and then grinned, "You're thinking about him aren't you?"

Wolf opened her mouth to reply but Mary didn't give her the chance.

"Not only are you blushing ever so slightly, but your familiar's tail's wagging." She giggle, "You're in love young one, whether you like it or not." Mary was then wise enough to break out at a dead run and disguise her scent.

"You son of a bitch!" Wolf shouted, trying to chase after her, "I'm going to gut you like a fucking fish!"


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

* * *

"What on Earth where you doing?" Perrine asked, looking up from her book at her table by the door to the pub when Wolf got back covered in sweat from head to toe. The Gallian pinched her nose, "You pong."

Wolf pointed at Perrine and said, "Don't be a hypocrite, Stinky Armpited Snail Eater," as she walked past, straight to the distraught Dick. "Gimme a cigarette," she ordered.

He wordlessly fetched a cigarette and gave it to Wolf, then held out his lighter for her to light it once she had was holding it in her teeth.

Wolf coughed violently as she lit the cigarette and took a drag. Once she finished her coughing fit, she asked dryly, "You found out what happened last night."

"I want to know what happened to you first," he muttered.

"Not a chance, I asked first."

"Fine. According to Stuart, we were all over each other last night. As I was then drowning my sorrows, he proceeded to explain to me how I was in love with you."

"I've known you long enough to know when you've fallen for a girl," Stuart explained, sticking his head between the two and putting an arm over each other their shoulders. From the large bruise on the side of his face, Wolf guessed Dick had more than smacked the man for his suggestion.

"I will hit you again," Dick warned.

"Hey, I'm buying your drinks aren't I? And I did let you love birds use my room…"

Wolf grabbed a handful of Stuart's hair and held his face inches from her own. She showed no emotion and kept her voice flat. "I spent the first seventeen years of my life in this city. I spent the last twelve years of that learning to kill people in a variety of ways. Continue to do as you do and I will kill you painfully and slowly and no one will find your corpse. _No one_."

"Uh… no need for any of that," Stuart squirmed, "I'll shut up."

"Yes you will."

Wolf let go of Stuart's hair and the Liberian fell to the ground and scrambled away.

"You really put the scare into him," Dick nearly chuckled.

"He was slandering our good names," Wolf explained, "just like that bitch earlier."

"What bitch?"

"Just someone I met today. I told her about our… situation and she seems to think that I'm in love with you." Wolf took another drag of the cigarette and coughed, "I hate these fucking things."

"Then why smoke them?"

"This filthy shit takes my mind off whatever is bothering me."

"Back to the bitch who thinks you're in love, she have a reason for this?"

"I don't want to talk about this anymore. Let's just wait until we see the barman from last night says, those guys see everything."

"Wolf," Dick said after a moment of silence between the two.

"Yeah?"

"Nice coat."

She smiled meekly, "Thanks."

* * *

Eila's stomach growled for what must have been the fiftieth time that afternoon.

"I think it's time for us to go inside." Robinson said, smiling.

"I think you might be right," Eila said, jumping off her barrel and holding a hand to her stomach as it growled again.

"I'll pay for your meal," Robinson offered, "It's my fault we haven't been inside since I stuck your head in a bucket."

"You're a good friend, you know that?" Eila laughed as they walked inside and looked for the table Perrine would be sitting at. Eila had worked with the Gallian for long enough to know that she would be sitting alone at a table with a book and possibly a glass of wine.

"I have been told that on occasion," Robinson giggled.

"Mind if we take a seat, Perrine?" Eila asked the Gallian, taking a seat before she could answer.

"I'll buy your meal as well, Clostermann," Robinson offered.

Perrine looked up from her book, clearly irritated, "No thank you, I'm fine."

"Nonsense!" Robinson scoffed with a smile, "I'm buying you a meal, so pick before I pick for you."

Perrine looked back at her book, "If you really insist, I'll have fish."

"Soup and bread for me, please," Eila told the Britannian.

"Alrighty, you two wait here, I'll go to the kitchen and see if I can rustle it up," Robinson told the Witches.

"That woman puzzles me," Perrine muttered from behind her book.

Eila cocked an eyebrow, "How so?"

"Not even Sanya can keep you up and away from food for that long. Something just doesn't seem right."

"I think you're just jealous that I made a new friend," Eila told her smugly.

"Don't say I didn't warn you."

* * *

Mary entered the pub looking for her aggressive friend when she noticed an interesting scent. Last time she was there the smell of alcohol and cigarette smoke was too thick to be able to pick out individuals in the crowd, but now… she walked up to a Liberian Seaman watching Wolf and her orange haired lover in the corner. "Hey there, sailor," she winked at him and grabbed his shirt, "You ever have had crazy sex with a witch?"

He opened his mouth, no doubt to protest if he was in fact what Mary thought.

"I'll take that as a 'no' then," she said seductively, pulling him towards the back of the building.

"Listen-"

"You just let me do all the work, hon, don't you worry about a thing."

"I really-" he protested again, both of them exiting through the back.

She threw him against the wall and held her revolver against his chin, "Who are you and what do you want with the people at the bar."

He sneered, "You son of a bitch, who do you think you are?"

She pressed the barrel of the gun harder against his chin, her voice level, "I asked first. Name, now."

"I'm not telling you shit, bitch."

"I've already got you pegged as OSS, so why don't you just fill in the blanks for me, sweetie?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," he lied, his scent betraying the lie.

She let out just enough magic for her familiar to appear, its ears perking up, "I assume you have heard about MI:6's Wolf Packs?"

"So you're an MI:6 dog then, just another mongrel," he spat.

"Kind of hypocritical coming from an OSS brown nose. Why don't you be a good boy and tell me a little about yourself?"

"It's man who gives orders to the dog. Roll over and play dead."

"My name is Mary E. Percival. Your turn."

"Stuart A. Weston."

"What are you doing in London?"

"I'm sure you're more than aware of all the witches being killed around these parts. A lot of them have been Liberians, and Uncle Sam doesn't like people killing his witches."

"You should have contacted us before sending your own agent. I hope your superiors know the political shit storm they're making."

"I could say the same of yours."

"This is Britannian soil, kiss ass, not Liberian. We don't answer to you, you answer to us. Back to my original question, what is your interest in the pair at the bar?"

"Classified," he said smugly.

Mary had to force herself not to pistol whip him. This was exactly why she didn't like dealing with Yanks. They were always so big headed and self righteous; just as bad as Karlslanders sometimes.

The MI:6 agent put her revolver back in its concealed holster in her jacket – if the Yank did decide to attack she was much faster than him _and_ a witch – and stood back, crossing her arms over her chest. "What. Did you want. With the two. At the bar?"

"The man is my friend, I'm making sure that broad doesn't screw him over," Stuart admitted. But again, Mary could smell that he was lying.

"You know what I am, so I would hope you know enough to realise you cannot lie to me. Tell the truth or I will assume your intentions are hostile and be forced to eliminate you."

"I'm only half lying you should know," he admitted after a few moments of silence, "I am watching over a friend. But not so that girl doesn't screw him over. You know about the witches getting killed, I want that man to help me catch the bastard… and I want to know if that witch is trustworthy since I think she'll come in handy."

Mary cocked an eyebrow, "You want to use her as bait?"

"Yes," he said, looking ready to get hit and need to defend himself, "if you want to break it down like that."

Mary rubbed her chin, "As deplorable as that is, it might work."

"What… you're seriously considering it?" Stuart sounded shocked, even appalled.

Mary nodded, still cupping her chin, "Yes, I am. That 'girl' as you called her, is one of my Wolf Pack. I don't know how she will react to the plan, but she can more than handle herself against whatever comes after her, I've seen that myself."

"Me too," Stuart said under his breath. Mary didn't think she was supposed to hear that.

"She took on eight or so Karlslanders and won, I think she can handle it."

"You sound like you want to work together now?" Stuart scoffed, crossing his arms.

"The most powerful automatic I've got access to is the Sten. You being a Liberian, I'll assume you've at least got a thirty cal. I want to know we've got heavier ordinance available if it's needed. So yes, I would like to work together. You might as well make yourself useful after all."

"I got thirty-oh-six-Springfield, twelve gauge, nine mil and forty five."

Mary smirked, "Compensating for something?"

* * *

Wolf crushed out her cigarette just before it burned to her fingers and was about to ask Dick for another when she picked up Mary's scent. And Stuart's.

She half drew her bayonet as she turned to face the pair.

"Easy, pup," Mary said with too calm a voice for Wolf's liking, "We're not here to talk about that. Stuart and I need to talk to you both… in private."

Wolf slid her bayonet back into the sheath as Dick said, "Alright, we can use our room."

They all went to the room Wolf, Dick, Perrine and Eila shared and Wolf and Mary waited a moment, their familiars' ears perked up, to make sure no one was listening.

"So what is this about then?" Dick asked.

"First, we've got some introductions and explanations to make," Mary told him, "My name is MaryEdmundPercival, I'm a She Wolf with MI:6. Wolf is part of my Wolf pack, she's a Hound…"

Dick looked at Wolf, probably wanting an explanation as to what a Wolf Pack, She Wolf, and Hound where.

_I'll explain later_, Wolf mouthed.

Mary continued, "…We've been looking into the witches' murders."

Stuart looked at Wolf, "And I'm StuartAlbertWeston, OSS. I've been looking into the witches as well. Richard's been helping a little."

It was Wolf's turn to give Dick a questioning look.

_I'll explain later_, he mouthed.

"We've decided to pool our recourses," Mary cut in, "Since we think we might be dealing with Neuroi. Stuart needs my and Wolf's special skill sets and we need Stuart's guns."

"And your Witches," Stuart told Dick.

Dick cocked an eyebrow, "You mean…?"

Stuart nodded, "We use your witches as bait. The person or thing or whatever it is has mostly been attacking people form this pub."

Dick crossed his arms, "No."

"I agree," Wolf told the agents, "Neither of them would survive the encounter."

"You don't have confidence in your teammates?" Stuart half scoffed, trying to goad Wolf. How thick did he think she was?

"They're the ones I target the most during training," Wolf calmly informed the Liberian, "Perrine is overconfident and easily tricked and Eila relies to heavily on her foresight ability. Her evasions are almost formulaic, time it right and you'll hit her. I've nearly hit her five times. Only just missed once," she held her fingers half an inch apart, "this close to her head, this close. If a kid that grew up on the street can figure this out, then a Neuroi advanced enough to conceal itself in a city full of people and systematically eliminate witches in accordance with their highest concentration and lowest threat level will easily figure it out. On top of that, Perrine will over think the situation and take too long to react. From what I was able to tell with the one corpse I saw, there were very few defensive wounds, so the Neuroi can quickly overpower a witch-"

"I call bullshit on the her-being-a-street-urchin thing," Stuart interrupted, "No way in hell a street kid talks like that."

"You'd be surprised," Dick grumbled.

"I read a lot of books and I'm a fast learner," Wolf snapped.

"Regardless of their skills, neither will get hurt," Mary cut in calmly, "you and I will be on the rooftops with the weapons Stuart supplies and the men will be on the ground tailing them. Like you already said, you've nearly hit Eila a couple of times, and I'm assuming that's while airborne travelling at Lord knows what speed, so sharpshooting a human sized Neuroi from a rooftop will be a piece of cake."

"The answer is still no," Dick reaffirmed, lighting a cigarette "Unlike Wolf and myself, neither of them has much close quarters training. The witches have all been killed with bladed weapons, which are clearly designed for close range use."

"The longer we wait, the more witches die," Mary told the Wing Commander, "is that what you want? More death? If either Perrine or Eila did die, or even both of them, their sacrifices would have saved countless other's lives."

"Gimme one of those," Wolf ordered Dick, pointing at his cigarette.

"I'm not putting either of them on the field," Dick said angrily, handing Wolf a cigarette and his lighter.

Stuart leaned back against the wall and sighed irritably, "You're letting your personal feelings get in the way, Richard. You're an officer and a damn good one if the reports are to be believed. A war cannot be won without sacrifice."

Dick opened his mouth to speak but Mary wouldn't let him get a word in.

"We can go over your head if we have to, it wouldn't take me long to get a line straight to Churchill."

"Then do so," Dick challenged.

Wolf coughed after a drag from her cigarette and pointed in the rough 10 Downing Street, "Better get to it."


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter seven

* * *

Eila and Robinson nearly fell off their chairs as they tried to support each other _and_ pour another glass of wine each.

Perrine shook her head and sipped her own wine. Unlike the other two who were on their second bottle, she was on her first glass.

"Y… you know, the m-more expensive a wine is… the… the betterer it is," Eila managed to get out.

"Yesh, yesh. yesh, but the o-older a wine is… the better it is also," Robinson countered.

"Yeah… yes… but the expensiver it is the… gooder it is also," Eila retorted.

Perrine made a vexed sound in her throat and closed her book, "Maybe you two should go to bed?"

"It is you who w-will be going to bed!" Eila snapped, stumbled as she tried to stand upright and point at Perrine.

"You're insufferable," Perrine growled, putting her book under her arm, "Not that you'll remember to tell the others, but I'm going for a walk."

"Your face is insuffewable!" Robinson yelled, both she and Eila laughing as if it was the funniest joke in the world.

The air outside was much cooler than inside, almost to the point where Perrine thought she should have brought a warm coat. Luckily there wasn't much in the way of a breeze, and with luck she would find somewhere quiet and well lit to continue her reading. After wandering around for nearly fifteen minutes, a policeman came up to her, "Excuse me, mom, but you appear a bit lost."

She smiled with relief, "A little. I'm looking for somewhere I can read my book in peace," she tapped the book under her arm.

"It's not safe for a girl like you to be wanderin' 'round, even bein' a witch," he told her, swinging his truncheon, "Why don't I escort you back to your lodgin's?"

"It's a bit too noisy at the pub I'm staying at, but thank you for the offer. If you could direct me to somewhere safe and peaceful where I can read, I would be grateful."

The policeman scratched his chin for a moment, "Hmm, my shift'll be over in an hour. Why don't you wait at the station till then and then I'll put you up for a couple of days at my house. The wife's from Gallia like you so she'll enjoy the company."

Perrine thought about that for a moment. _If you can't trust an officer of the law who can you trust?_ "Okay… I think that would be nice. Make this a more relaxing break than the one I'm having at the moment."

"The station isn't far from here," the policeman said, pointing down the street, "Down the end of the street, right for three blocks, and the second right. You won't miss it."

* * *

Wolf crushed her cigarette against the wall as she and Dick left Mary and Stuart in their room, leaving the agents with a string of vulgar curses.

"Booze, strong, now!" Wolf and Dick ordered at the same time when they got down stairs.

"Strong drink for the young couple," the bartender smirked, the same bartender from the previous night, "this first one is on the house."

Wolf let her head drop onto the counter with aloud bang, "Fuck."

"You can say that again," Dick muttered.

She lifted her head to accept the cigarette Dick was silently offering. "So, what do we do now?" she asked around it as he offered his lighter.

"I don't kn…" he looked around, "Where's Clostermann?"

Wolf looked around, not seeing the Gallian in question, "I'll go ask Eila."

"Who…? Oh! H-her!" the more than drunk Eila said after Wolf questioned her about Perrine, "She said she was going for a walk."

"Good widdance," Robinson said loudly.

Eila nodded her agreement and nearly fell over from the sudden head movement. "Come, come, come, come, come, drink with us!"

Wolf turned the offer down politely and rushed back to Dick and dropped her cigarette, "Get the two idiots down here now, Perrine's gone for a walk. I'm going to give chase."

"Go," Dick said quickly, jumping from his stool and running up stairs.

Wolf picked up Perrine's scent as soon as she was outside. The Gallian had a very specific scent, a mix of several perfumes that were very uncommon in Britannia as a whole.

After following the scent for nearly ten minutes, travelling at nearly a dead run for most of the time, Wolf heard a man scream not half a street away and the crack of lightning a moment later. With not a single cloud in the night sky, Wolf figured it had to be Perrine. She moved as fast as he legs could carry her, drawing her Colt New Service and checking to see if it was loaded, nearly dropping it as she fumbled with it. When she arrived at where she had heard the scream and the lightning, Wolf saw what remained of a burnt and ripped apart bobbie, a smoking corpse with two Neuroi-black blades extending from its arms and a second one just like it that had Perrine cornered.

"Get away from her!" Wolf shouted, raising her revolver and sighting Perrine's assailant. If Wolf missed there was a good chance she would hit Perrine, but there wasn't any other choice.

Unexpectedly, the attacker half turned to face Wolf, looking ready to charge at the new threat and screaming a half Neuroi, half human scream.

Wolf squeezed the trigger and shot at the attacker, hitting it in the shoulder.

It screamed again, an ear piercing scream that Wolf couldn't begin to describe, and charged her.

Wolf again squeezed the trigger, and again, not stopping until her gun went click and then drew her bayonet to engage the attacker.

It began to stumble at the last few steps before it would reach Wolf, came to a stop one step before reaching Wolf, and fell to the ground with a thud, Wolf stepping to the side to avoid it falling on her.

Wolf swallowed and poked the attacker with her bayonet. It didn't move. She poked it again. Again, there was no movement. Satisfied that her foe was defeated, Wolf turned to Perrine who was gritting her teeth and clutching her bleeding shin.

"Did it get you?!" Wolf demanded, rushing to the Gallian's side.

"No," Perrine replied, barely able to hide her discomfort, "you got me."

"Help will be here in a moment," Wolf said reassuringly, tearing a piece of cloth off her coat as a makeshift bandage for Perrine, "What the hell were you doing out this late anyway?"

Perrine flinched as Wolf began tying the bandage around her bleeding shin but still managed a slight if pained smile, "It's a silly thing really."

Wolf pulled the knot tight and Perrine screamed with gritted teeth, "Have you got anything better to talk about at the moment?"

"Rgh… I guess you're right." The Gallian frowned, "Eila and Robinson were getting on my nerves and I couldn't concentrate on my reading. I didn't think I could go to our room since Eila would be there soon enough not to mention you and the Commander looked pretty upset, so I went for a walk, hoping to find somewhere peaceful to read." She glanced at the bobbie's corpse, "I didn't think I would be getting anybody killed."

"That couldn't have been your fault."

"It was," Perrine replied sadly, "If I hadn't been walking around he wouldn't have found me and wouldn't have been killed."

"I know the bobbies of this town, he would have just been keeping to his route no matter what he had told you." It was a lie, but she didn't want Perrine to have that guilt.

Perrine shook her head and flinched as she moved her ankle, biting down on her lip with enough force to draw blood, "No, this was definitely my fault. He was escorting me to the station. After his shift he was going to introduce me to his wife, a Gallian."

"We're fighting a war," Wolf told Perrine firmly, "the best you can do is try and minimise the death toll. It's not like you knew the bloody things were going to attack."

Perrine didn't say anything.

"Just add it to your long list of fuck ups then, Surrender Monkey. I'm sure the Major will be proud of you for getting so gloomy."

"Shut up, cur!" Perrine snapped, and then cried out and gripped her ankle as she bumped it against Wolf's knee.

Wolf smiled and gave her a pat on the back, "That's the spirit."

"Fuck all kinds of duck," Mary muttered as she arrived at the scene, soon followed by Dick and Stuart. Mary crouched down by the attacker Wolf had killed, "these are assassin type Neuroi."

"Is she okay?" Dick asked, pushing past Mary and Stuart who were looking at the Neuroi.

"_She_ will live," Perrine answered dryly, "I'd appreciate it if you would hurry and get medical help though."

"You're handling being shot better than I thought," Dick commented before turning to Stuart and whistling sharply, "closest medical facility, now."

"I just lost feeling below the knee," Perrine told Dick dryly, "so hurry up on the medic please."

Dick whistled at Stuart again and quickly gestured, "Move it!"

While Stuart ran off to get medical help, Dick joined Wolf by Perrine's side.

"I'm going to lose my leg, aren't I?" Perrine asked ruefully.

Wolf harrumphed, "Stop being a drama queen. You've just lost a little blood is all. We get a medical witch to you and you'll be sticking your nose up at the common folk for years to come."

"I need to go," Mary said suddenly and urgently, "Do _not _leave that pub until I come and get you."

"Why?" Dick asked, turning to face the MI:6 agent.

"There are always at least five of these Neuroi. I've only read reports but you need to be in that pub surrounded by all those military personnel if you want to make sure you'll live, even if they're drunk."

"What about Perrine?" Wolf asked.

"I'll arrange for a compliment of guards," Mary said before running off.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

* * *

_ RECIEVING TRANSMISSION. DECRYTING MESSAGE._

_All units have lost contact with Unit 874 and Unit 876. Probability suggests they have been eliminated. Reviewing last transmission received from Unit 874 and Unit 876._ An image appeared in one section of Unit 023's heads up display of an adolescent girl mostly blocked by a large flash of light and a reading of several system malfunctions and short-circuits from Unit 876's heads up display. Another image of appeared underneath it of another witch, this one nearly at maturity though looking more like a male than a female, wielding a handgun. The readings indicated five perforations and damage to critical systems.

Unit 023 ordered all other units to remain on standby and await further orders. It needed to confer with the Central Intelligence Hub.

* * *

Wolf poked Eila in the head and said flatly, "Get up."

The Suomusian Witch was asleep on a table next to Robinson, one of the wine glasses knocked over and Eila's hair being fairly drenched with wine.

Wolf smacked Eila with enough force to shake the table and repeated flatly, "Get up."

"Gargh… what the hell do you want?" the half conscious Eila grumbled.

Wolf grabbed a handful of her hair and started dragging her to the back of the building where barrels of cold water awaited to sober up the witch, "Perrine's in hospital and we're all in danger."

"What are you…?" Eila was cut off when Wolf all but picked her up and threw her into one of the barrels and held her down.

After twelve seconds, Wolf pulled her back out and threw her over her shoulder before proceeding inside. "I'll explain once we're upstairs."

Once in their room where Dick was waiting, Wolf threw Eila onto the bed and took a cigarette from Dick.

As Wolf lit her cigarette, Dick explained the situation to Eila, "There are at least three assassin type Neuroi in the city and as far as we can tell, they're the ones that have been murdering witches. Two of them attacked Perrine while she was out for a walk. Wolf give her that revolver of yours."

Wolf took a drag of her cigarette and tossed Eila the unloaded handgun and her twelve spare bullets. "It's not loaded and has a lot of recoil. Careful with it."

"How do you…?" Eila began.

"There's a woman called and a man called . A Britannian and a Liberian. Both of them have been investigating the witch homicides."

Eila opened her mouth to ask something else.

"A friend of Wolf and a friend of mine respectively," Dick answered and then held out his packet of cigarettes, "Cigarette?"

Eila stuck out her tongue, "disgusting things… you said Perrine was in hospital, what happened?"

"Don't worry, the Neuroi didn't get her," Wolf said, pointing in the general direction of the hospital with her cigarette, "I did. In the ankle. By accident mind you."

"Does the army know about these Neuroi?"

"We assume that's where Mary went," Dick said, "though we don't know for sure. Stuart is with Perrine though, before you ask, so she's going to be safe. I may give him a hard time but he's a capable soldier."

The door slammed open and Mary entered the room with a pistol belt with two holsters for two Colt New Services and another like it over her shoulder, also fully armed. "Wolf, with me. You two, stay. Commander Yeager, are you armed?"

He nodded.

"Good. Let's go."

Wolf followed the MI:6 agent out and was handed the spare pistol belt. She was then led to a jeep that was waiting outside.

"We're going to BuckinghamPalace," Mary explained as the car drove away from the pub, "all Wolves in the city have been called there to act as security for his Majesty in light of the new threat. Someone else will be taking over the investigation."

"Why am I going, I'm not part of MI:6?"

"You're still enlisted, and we need all the Hounds we can muster if the Neuroi _do_ decide to attack the Palace. Can't think of any other reason for them to be here aside from taking out the witches"

"How many are there?"

"Four."

"Only four Hounds… how many in total?"

"That was the total, four," Mary replied sternly, "Two Hounds, a She Wolf and a Mongrel." After a few moments of quiet, Mary added, "And be on your best behaviour, you might meet the King."

* * *

When Wolf and Mary arrived at the Palace the other two wolves were waiting for them, Wolf could tell by their scents, they smelt ready to attack something.

"Wolf, this is Jasmine and Isla," Mary said, gesturing to them respectively. Jasmine was slightly on the pudgy side with short dark brown hair that wouldn't be winning any beauty contests. Isla on the other hand would have been handsome – not beautiful but handsome – had it not been for the small scar over her mouth and her trouble-maker grin. It seemed like she was looking forward to hurting something. Both of them were in their mid twenties at least and both wore the same pistol belt as Mary and Wolf. "You'll be patrolling with Isla."

Isla saluted, "I look forward to working with you, ma'am." She had a strong Highlander accent.

"Don't salute me, I'm just a Sergeant," Wolf grumbled,

"Doesn't matter, you're a Hound and I'm just a lowly Mongrel," Isla replied.

"And I'm the She Wolf so I'm in charge," Mary said firmly, "That means I'm the only person you salute. Got that? Now take Wolf to the armoury."

"Yes, ma'am."

As Wolf was being led to the armoury, Isla asked, "Do you know the difference between you Hounds and us Mongrels?"

"I only found out about this Wolf Pack stuff a few days ago, so I don't really know all that much."

"I'll tell you by telling you how the Mongrels got their names. It's got nothing to do with unwed parents. We're always, always bastards to the core. We drink, sleep, gamble, cheat, we're never in fair fights, we stab in the back, lie, plot, pit against, betray, and bully. We're not honourable people-"

"So I should ask Mary to give me someone else to patrol with?"

Suddenly Wolf felt a blade against her neck, "What it means is that I'm a lot faster than I lead people think, and that if things get tricky Mary is going to want me to sit back and hit from afar, which I won't do." She removed the knife from Wolf's throat, "point is that I'd appreciate it if you ignored Mary's order to fire at me when I go protect the King with my amazing agility rather than a Sten."

"So long as you do the same for me."

"You're not going to act as sharpshooter?"

"I will, unless I can protect the King better from up close. Just ask Commander M… Wilcke. I may not like it but I do the tasks I am assigned."

"Fair call," Isla said with a shrug as they entered the armoury.

Wolf quickly glanced around the room and grabbed a Lee-Enfield, a bandolier of ammo for it – roughly eighty rounds – and filled a satchel with Gammon bombs and No. 77 grenades – about six of each.

"You plan on fighting a turtleback or something?" Isla joked.

"Ideally I'd have something like a BAR or FG42 instead of the Lee-Enfield, like I usually carry, but there aren't any here."

"What and where the hell do you fight?"

"Neuroi, in the skies over Britannia and the Chanel with the Five-Hundred-and-First Joint Flight Wing."

"Jesus Christ."

* * *

For two planetary rotations, Unit 023 waited for a response. In a protected part of its processors, it cursed the time it was taking to get a response. The human forces would have prepared a defence against them by now and eliminating King GeorgeVI of Britannia will be much more difficult. Not impossible, but difficult, with a more casualties. Casualties that couldn't be afforded this late in the war. Production of Eliminator class Drones was far too costly for the ones lost in this operation to be replaced. It would be better put to use creating a hundred Loki class Drones or put towards the production of the Ragnarok class assault Entity.

_RECIEVING TRANSMISSION. DECRYTING MESSAGE._

_Commit all resources to elimination of King George VI of Britannia._

"Fools!" Unit 023 spat and several passers by glanced at what they thought to be a simple homeless man. The cost for this is too great, hasn't that been processed?!

_SEND MESSAGE._

_All units proceed to Buckingham Palace to eliminate King George VI of Britannia. Expect high level resistance._

* * *

"I think I'm starting to like you," Isla said, offering Wolf a cup of tea.

"Thanks… I think," Wolf said, slinging her rifle over her shoulder and accepting the cup of tea.

They both sat on the roof of BuckinghamPalace, their familiars also present to make it easier to detect the enemy.

"It's because you're not like all those other Hounds and Alpha Males and Alpha Females and She Wolves. They all look down on Mongrels, bunch of cunts. But not you, you look at me like an equal. And you're no stranger to dirty dealings."

"I grew up in the mean streets of this town; you expect any less, Highlander?"

Isla chuckled, "No. You'd make a fine Highlander."

"I'm not exactly picky, but there's no way in hell I'm eating haggis. Besides, both my parents were Krauts."

"That mean you…?" Isla stopped mid sentence and sniffed the air, her familiar's ears twitching.

Wolf could smell it too, a scent she was all too familiar with. "They're here."

There was automatic weapons fire in several places around the front and back courtyards, and then a loud thud behind the two wolves. They turned just in time to avoid getting their heads chopped off by two Neuroi blades connected to the arms of a bobbie.

Wolf wasn't going to give it another chance to attack. She jumped at his legs and knocked them out from under him while Isla appeared from behind and stuck a knife into his throat.

"It's not flesh!" Isla shouted as the bobbie slashed at her and fell short as Isla jumped back.

Wolf kicked it away and drew both her revolvers and fired, Isla doing the same.

The bobbie shook each time a bullet hit and sparks flew out. Wolf grabbed a Gammon bomb from her satchel after her revolvers were empty and threw it at the bobbie, pulling the pin and diving to the ground. "Grenade!"

There was a loud explosion and Wolf smelt the hair on her familiar's tail singe before a Neuroi blade nearly cut off her elbow as it landed next to her.

"Jesus goat-fucking Christ!" Isla cursed as she helped Wolf up.

"Wolf, Isla," Mary barked over the radio, "Main dining hall, now!"

Wolf snatched up her Lee-Enfield and jumped off the roof with Isla, grabbing the second ledge they fell past and smashing through the window – a shortcut to the main dining hall. It took a further seventeen seconds to reach the main dining hall, even taking another shortcut through a wall.

"Get over here!" a Palace guard standing at the entrance to the main dining hall shouted to Wolf and Isla before being thrown back into the wall by an explosion with several large bits of wood sticking out of him and the wall behind.

Wolf and Isla entered the breach. Half the chairs were destroyed and the table was shattered and cracked in several places. At one end stood two figures; one clearly a Neuroi, only resembling a human in general shape having stubs instead of hands, the other looking like a homeless woman with tangled hair and a patchy coat. There were also the corpses of several Royal Guards, and three live ones, two of who were badly wounded and the other being held up and… interrogated by the more human Neuroi?

"Where is King GeorgeVI of Britannia?" the homeless Neuroi asked, a blade held against the Guard's throat, the other retracted so that it could hold the Guard by the back of the head.

"Oi ain't tellin' you shoit!" the Guard spat.

"Very well," the Neuroi woman replied, and Wolf could have sworn that it smiled before slicing the Guard's head clean off.

The other Neuroi turned to face Wolf and Isla and made some sort of beeping cross grinding noise and the other turned to face them as well. "Kill," the more human one ordered.

"Holy FUCK!" Isla shouted as the witches divided to either side as a thin Neuroi Beam nearly sliced through them.

"Smoke out!" Wolf shouted, tossing a No. 77 grenade at the Neuroi. While it was in fact a smoke grenade, it was also very useful as an anti-personnel or incendiary weapon due to the phosphorus it used to make the smoke. It may not destroy the Neuroi but it would mess them up a little at least.

"We need backup," Isla called over the radio, "We're pinned down at the south end of the main dining hall by two Neuroi at the north end. One with Beam capability, one the other using blades."

Wolf heard machinegun fire before Mary replied, "Alright, we're on our way. ETA, two minutes."

"Copy that," Isla replied. "Wolf, we've got two-" a thin Neuroi beam cut through Isla's cover and through her left arm, slicing it clean off.

Wolf popped her head and rifle above cover just enough to provide fire to draw the ranged Neuroi's attention. She got a single shot off before narrowly avoiding losing her head and arms. It didn't appear as though the No. 77 grenade had disoriented it much. The human like one on the other hand was on the ground sputtering and holding its throat as if it was choking. _Does it have lungs or some shit?!_

A thin Beam sliced through Wolf's cover and she ran at the wall, firing at the upright Neuroi with a rifle and running up the wall, pushing herself off and landing on the other side of the room near a Bren light machine gun. She scooped it up and went to run at the other wall and then slid under a still recognisable part of the table instead and fired on the enemy. She got seven rounds out – two of them hitting – before her gun clicked empty. It fired on her and she narrowly dodged it as she ran between cover, randomly changing direction and speed so that the Neuroi couldn't get a lock on her and even running at the Neuroi at one point until she got to the wounded Isla.

"Get me outta here!" she screamed, clutching the stub that was all that remained of her arm.

"You owe me a drink," Wolf growled as she picked up Isla and ducked to avoid the thin beam. She was starting to see a pattern in the way the Neuroi attacked and it was getting easier to avoid them. "Stay here," Wolf ordered when she put Isla down outside the room.

_10 seconds_, Wolf told herself as she re-entered the room and threw another of her No. 77 grenades and a Gammon bomb to follow it up in the hopes that it would cause some damage to the heavy Neuroi. That's what Wolf had decided it must have been since none of her bullets had done much.

The Gammon bomb went off before the No. 77 grenade did since it exploded on impact.

She continued to dodge the heavy Neuroi's attacks until she saw Jasmine appear with a sawn off coach gun in one hand and a kukri in the other. Catching the heavy Neuroi by surprise and blasting it in the back with both barrels of her coach gun and stuck kukri into one of its arms and nearly sliced it off. And then she tore its other arm off with her teeth. Mary then entered and fired several rounds from her Sten into the homeless person Neuroi.

"Situation report!" Mary demanded, reloading her Sten.

"Isla has been hit and is losing a lot of blood-"

"I fucking bandaged it!" Isla shouted, "I'm not going to fucking die! Make sure the royals are safe before me!"

"Her arm was severed," Wolf continued to explain, "and all the Guards are in this area are dead too."

"Alright, Isla, stay here," Mary ordered, "Wolf, you're with me and Jasmine. We're getting the King and Queen outta here."

Wolf and Jasmine followed Mary to the King and Queen's quarters, where Mary had to pull rank to get the Guards outside the door to step aside.

"Your Majesties, we need to get you out of here, now."

"I will not leave," the King said firmly, "I did not leave during the Blitz and I will not leave now."

"Your Majesty, if we do not leave you now you and your Queen will most likely be killed. The current kill count is three of those Neuroi things-"

"Four," Wolf corrected, "Me and Isla killed one on the roof."

"Four of those Neuroi things," Mary continued, flashing Wolf an angry look, "and we don't know how many more there might be."

* * *

Unit 023 grimaced as it lost the signal from Unit 771 and Unit 633.

_All units, move in._

That was four destroyed Drones, one more loss than was expected. Not to mention they had all been destroyed much quicker than anticipated. It was imperative that Unit 023 see what was causing such losses and report it back to the Central Intelligence Hub.

It got up from its place in the gutter and walked towards the palace.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

* * *

"Those were explosions," Eila muttered. She, Perrine – who had returned from the hospital yesterday – and Commander Yeager were sitting in the pub and nursing three beers. Wolf had left two days ago and none of them had heard a thing about her, and it had them all worried.

"I didn't hear anything," Commander Yeager grumbled, taking a sip of his beer.

"We can hear much better than you can," Perrine informed him, referring to the fact that she and Eila were witches, "and she's right. There was an explosion… think it has anything to do with Wolf?"

"I didn't train her to be careless," Commander Yeager explained, "if she _is_ involved, that means those Neuroi are involved too. I can't think of any other reason she would be near an explosion."

Stuart came over with four full pints of beer and gestured at the seat that would have otherwise been occupied by Wolf, "This seat taken?"

Commander Yeager glanced at Stuart, then at the beers, and then at Stuart again, "It is now."

Stuart sat down and handed a fresh beer to each of them, "I actually have something I need to talk to you three about." He leaned in so that he could speak quieter, "There are a number of assassin types assaulting the palace. You two," he pointed forked fingers at Eila and Perrine, "Stay here. Richard, you're with me, we're going to provide assistance."

"Considering what little I've heard," Commander Yeager deadpanned, "wouldn't it be better to take the witches along?"

"No. These things were hunting witches to begin with, we don't want to help them. You and I will be enough support. Besides, I brought some heavier ordinance than the Brits have."

"You heard him," Commander Yeager said as he got up, "Stay put."

"But-" Eila began to protest, knocking the table as she stood up.

"Stay," Commander Yeager said firmly, pointing a finger at the ground as if the two witches were dogs and he was the master.

"Wolf's our comrade too," Eila grumbled under her breath as she slumped on the table.

"I know," Perrine added quietly, "I know."

* * *

"So what's the real plan?" Richard asked Stuart once they were in his car. He knew the OSS agent well enough to know that he wouldn't have told anyone not involved what the actually plan is.

"In the back of this car are a Thompson M1921, Winchester Trench gun, M3 submachinegun, BAR and pair of 1911s. We're going to offer our assistance to the Royal Guards. That's it. From the radio chatter I've heard they're getting torn up by the Neuroi so I doubt they'll turn us down."

"Why are you doing this? It's not like you." Richard asked next.

"What do you think will happen to the war effort if the Royals are killed? You think Uncle Sam and the Karl can hold out against the Neuroi without the Britannian Empire's support? Without the Royals the Empire's morale will drop like a rock."

"Alright. I'll take the Automatic Rifle and the M3."

"Fair call. Wouldn't want your girly getting hurt after all."

Stuart's laughter was cut off when Richard slugged him in the side of the head.

"Oh, come on, that was good timing. Anyway, get on the radio – it's in the back – it's already on the Royal Guards' frequency. Inform them that two OSS agents are offering their assistance."

* * *

After what seemed like an eternity of arguing, Mary had given up in trying convince the King and Queen to evacuate the Palace. What surprised Wolf most was that Mary had _argued_ with _the king_! Not even the Prime Minister, WinstonChurchill, argued with the King.

"Your Majesties, ma'am," one of the Guardsmen said as he poked his head through the door, "two OSS agents are on the radio offering their assistance."

"That bastard!" Mary cursed under her breath. "Wolf, stay here and protect his and her Majesty. Jasmine, we're going to secure the area. You take the east, I'll take the south."

"Got it," Wolf answered as the other two rushed out the door. She immediately started sniffing that air, making all the present scents familiar so that she would know if something else was near. She was surprised that Queen Elizabeth wasn't wearing any sort of perfume.

* * *

"Holy shit…" Richard cursed when he saw the state the RoyalPalace was in. Part of the roof was collapsed and there was smoke billowing from several windows. There was a trio of Guardsmen firing at a shadowed figure that had blades instead of arms much like the Neuroi that had attacked Perrine. It was well in cover against the Britannians but not from the angle that Richard and Stuart were at. The Wing Commander rested his BAR on a pile of rubble and sighted the Neuroi. He fired two, three round bursts and hit another Neuroi that had appeared from a pile of rubble a few feet away and noticed the Liberians.

"Nice shot," Stuart noted.

Richard didn't have the heart tell him he had missed. There was a reason he wasn't in the field.

Richard aimed more to the left and fired again, missing. And again, missing. And again, missing!

It finally noticed the Liberians and turned to charge at them. And then the Royal Guards hit it as it exposed itself.

Richard and Stuart ran over to the Guards and Richard shoved the BAR into one of their hands and the two spare magazines he had. Better someone who can aim properly use it than Richard.

"Where do you need us?" Stuart asked.

"Right 'ere," the Guardsman who was obviously in charge said, "We got three people protectin' the King 'n Queen so we need as many eyes as we can get out 'ere."

"Got it," Stuart replied, shouldering his Thompson with a hundred round drum.

* * *

Unit 635, Unit 494, Unit 091, Unit 089, Unit 152, and Unit 023 were the only units that remained. Their forces had been halved and Unit 023 had seen it necessary to assign all others to assaulting the exterior of the palace and while it and Unit152 searched the interior for the target. It would be the most efficient route, even if it cost Unit 635, Unit 494, Unit 091, and Unit 089. That was the risk that was necessary for the mission to succeed.

* * *

Wolf smelt the Neuroi scent and then heard automatic weapons fire out in the hall. She grabbed one of her revolvers and threw it to the King, "Do you know how to use this?"

He nodded, "Yes."

"Protect the Qu…"

Wolf trailed off when she realised the automatic fire had stopped. She put her ear to the wall: nothing. She sniffed the air: the King and Queen, Neuroi, the Guards, and blood and cooked flesh. "That's not-"

A Neuroi blade came out of the wall barley a quarter of an inch from Wolf's nose, "HOLY SHIT!"

Another blade stuck through the wall as Wolf jumped away from it and a Neuroi burst through the door. Wolf raised her rifle and King GeorgeVI raised his revolver and they fired on the Neuroi. The other one appeared through the wall and knocked Wolf to the ground, dropping her rifle. Despite the Neuroi atop her about to skewer her, Wolf knew that she needed to stop the other one from reaching the royals first. She pulled her one remaining revolver and fired at the Neuroi as it charged the King and Queen, firing at the thing twice before turning it on the Neuroi atop her. She was fast but not that fast. The royals would be on their own for a moment.

For a second, Wolf thought she recognised the Neuroi atop of her, it looked like a homeless man that she had seen by the pub a number of times. It had the nerve to grin at her while she was distracted before trying to run one of its blades through her. She wriggled to the side, narrowly avoiding the blade and fired her remaining four rounds into the Neuroi's chest and then kicked it off her.

A quick glance revealed that the other Neuroi had also been defeated and that the King and Queen were safe. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, we're f-f-fine," the King replied calmly.

* * *

_ERROR. PRIMARY ROUTER INOPERABLE. SECONDARY ROUTER INOPERABLE. ALL COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS INOPERABLE. ERROR. COMBAT AND MOVEMENT SYSTEMS NON-RESPONSIVE. ERROR. RECONSTRUCTION SYSTEM DATA NOT BEING RECEIVED. CURCUITS 106C TO 647F SEVERED. REROUTING COMBAT AND MOVEMENT FUNCTIONS THROUGH CURCUITS 674K THROUGH 999Z. COMBAT AND MOVEMENT FUNCTIONS RETURNED. COMBAT FUNCTIONS OPPERATING AT 70.10% EFFICIENCY. MOVEMENT SYSTEMS OPPERATING AT 89.55% EFFICIENCY. REROUTING RECONSTRUCTION SYSTEMS THROUGH CURCUITS 647H THROUGH 674J. REONSTRUCTION SYSTEMS WORKING AT 3.54% EFFICENCY. ERROR. CHEMICAL, ULTRA VIOLET, AND INFRARED SENSORS INOPERABLE. VISUAL AND AUDIO SNESORS OPERATING AT 81.11% EFFICIENCY._

Unit 023 reactivated its visual and audio sensors and took only 0.017 seconds to analyse the data.

_TARGET AQUIRED_.

* * *

Wolf heard the Neuroi she had killed begin to move and she was about to grab her bayonet when a Neuroi blade stuck through her right shin and seared the flesh. She then went bone stiff and bolted upright as a surge of electricity coursed through her. The Neuroi pulled its blade out and she collapsed to the ground as it got up. For some reason, she was still alive. She would make the Neuroi pay for that mistake. Wolf reached out and grabbed the Neuroi's ankle and stuck her bayonet through the back of its knee. "Run! Now!"

The Neuroi turned to face Wolf and the King pulled the Queen past while it was distracted, putting himself between it and her. It raised a blade to drive through her head but she twisted and pulled its leg out from under it. It fell to one knee…

* * *

George made sure he was between the Neuroi and Elizabeth until they were out of the room and down the hall a little. "Stay here," he told his wife before picking up one of the dead Guard's Stens and returning to the room to help that girl.

* * *

On only one knee, it was still off balance,. Wolf pushed off with her pushed off the ground with her both legs, pain shooting through her right leg, and tackled the Neuroi to the ground. It looked angry.

Wolf was filled with rage too. She growled and ripped the Neuroi's face off with her wolf's teeth, than brought both her clenched hands down on its head. It was still moving and trying to slice through her. She twisted an arm and broke it off from the elbow, then pushed the blade through its chest and the floor and twisted it.

* * *

_ERROR. CRITICAL FALIURE ACROSS ALL SYSTEMS. PRIMAR- DATA CORRUPT. INVALID ENTRY. BEGINNING DATA PURGE. DATA PURGE COMPLETE. ERROR… SUBJECT NOT FOUND… ERR…_

* * *

Wolf pulled the bladed arm out and went to stick it in again when a hand grabbed her shoulder. She looked back with a snarl and wiped the snarl off her face when she realised it was the King, "That'll do, Sergeant, I think you killed it."

She dropped the arm and tried to stand up, but pain shot through her right leg and she fell to the ground.

The King offered his hand to help Wolf up and she gladly accepted it, "Thank you, your Majesty."

He carried her out to the hall where the Queen was waiting. "Just put me down here, you Majesty," Wolf said when they were near one of the dead Guards.

He put her down, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine… your Majesty, this… is nothing," she replied through gritted teeth, "I've lost… an arm and a leg… before." She tore the sleeve off her uniform and ripped it so that she could tie a tourniquet just below her right knee. Although the wound had been cauterised by the Neuroi blade, she didn't want to take any chances. "Can you get… my rifle and… handgun from the room please, your Majesty?"

He nodded and went into the room to fetch the weapons. She reloaded her revolver, the one she had given the King, and then her Lee-Enfield.

"Is there another secure room, your Majesty?" Wolf asked as she used her rifle to push herself up, "One where you and the Queen can remain until this is over?"

"Y-y-yes, the kitchen storeroom," his Majesty replied, "It only has one entrance and no windows."

"Okay. I'll lead you there."

Wolf used the rifle to support herself as she hobbled in front of the King and Queen, using her revolver to check any corners, rooms and hallways they came across. It took nearly half an hour to get to the storeroom. "Don't let anyone that you don't know the face and full name of in, and make sure they give you their full name before open the door."

"I'll need your full name then, Sergeant," the King pointed out as he stepped into the storeroom.

"WolfKaufmann."

* * *

"Are… there… any left?" Richard asked, out of breath and glancing at the nearly descended sun. "Jesus, I'm out of shape."

Mary brushed a lock of hair from her face and looked him up and down, "If Wolf didn't already have eyes for you I sure would, and I don't like unfit men."

_Shit_. Richard didn't mean to say that last pert out loud.

"Just answer the question," Richard ordered.

Mary kicked a Neuroi assassin corpse, "This was the last one, but Jasmine and I are going to patrol to make sure there are no more."

* * *

Wolf checked her pocket watch. It was night now, half nine, but you couldn't tell from in the kitchen since there weren't any windows.

Mary came down the stairs and a look of relief appeared on her face, "Christ! Look at your…" she shook her head, "Where's the King and Queen?"

Wolf thumbed the storeroom door, "In here, their bedroom wasn't secure anymore."

"The coast is clear, bring them out."

Wolf pushed herself up with the Lee-Enfield and knocked on the door, "It's Sergeant WolfKaufmann, your Majesties. The coast is clear."

"Let's get you to a med witch," Mary said once the Royals had been secured.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

* * *

"I don't like this," Wolf repeated to Perrine, tugging on the dress uniform. The two of them were waiting in a spare bedroom for the signal. There had been much damage to the palace but after seeing Wolf's bravery and fortitude King George had insisted she be knighted, so they were conducting the ceremony in a hallway. If Wolf had her way she would be back at the pub getting in a few drinks before going back to Dover. At least the King had been kind enough to let her go back to Dover. Perrine was there too since Wolf had very little idea about protocol in these situations and figured the Gallian might be some help.

"Stop fidgeting," Perrine ordered, "You'll crease your clothes."

"If only that was the worst of it," Wolf grumbled.

Perrine flicked Wolf's ear, "Enough with attitude, you're up in two."

"If I had my bayonet, Gallian…"

"But you don't. Just stay calm, remember what you've been told to do."

"Next time we go somewhere quiet for our off time, like the Highlands."

"I will _not_ eat haggis," Perrine said firmly.

"You'll eat what you're given; food is rationed after all… except for booze. That's kept in a fairly constant supply." _Where the hell is Dick when you need him._Wolf wanted a cigarette.

"You're up," Perrine said, holding the door open for Wolf.

The Britannian took a deep breath and walked out into the hallway. There were officers, politicians, and nobles lining the hall with the King and Queen at the other end. Everything became a blur as she approached the royals. She was never big on ceremonies or so many 'influential' people being around. Those were the sort of people who she had found were the most trouble when she was growing up. It was easy to blame the little orphan kid, to make fun f her or take advantage of her naivety.

Wolf suddenly realised that there was a sword on her shoulder, and then it was placed on her other shoulder. _When did I kneel?_

If nothing else, she could rub it in the faces of the others. _Knights Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Hartmann? Actual knight, bitch!_ She didn't know how Dick would react though, she hadn't seen him once since leaving the pub with Mary to go to BuckinghamPalace. He probably wouldn't give two shits once they got back to training. Back to hours of shooting practice, formations, manoeuvres, hand-to-hand combat with the other witches – that one she actually quite enjoyed – and ground attack tactics. Apparently a lot of ground Neuroi don't have much in the way of air defences. Now that Wolf thought about, maybe all airborne witches should be trained to use basic land Strikers just in case they got stranded or airborne Strikers were unavailable and all ground witches taught to use basic airborne Strikers.

Some one tapped Wolf on the shoulder. She returned from her thought and realised it was just her and Perrine.

The Gallian clicked her fingers in front of Wolf's face, "SirKaufmann! Earth to SirKaufmann!"

Wolf caught her wrist and bared her teeth, "When I get my sword, Gallian, I am running you through."

"Hold on, it was _you_ who wanted _me _here!" Perrine sighed, "Let's just get back to the pub; Commander Yeager says we're leaving early."

Wolf and Perrine were driven back to the pub where Eila and Dick were waiting outside, the latter leaning against the wall with a cigarette hanging out the side of his mouth.

"Pack your things and meet us at the jeep. I've already paid." Dick ordered without so much as a second glance at Wolf.

Wolf and Perrine went upstairs to pack their things, the Britannian grumbling as she got out of her dress uniform and into her usual leather flight jacket, with a snarling wolf's head and crossed brooms stitched into the back and Sergeant chevron on the shoulders, and also put on a green skirt and the trench coat Mary had bought her – it was chilly outside and the clouds threatened rain. "Bastard didn't even care that I've been knighted? What, he too good to congratulate his underling? How many of the other bloody witches he's trained have been knighted? None I bet. Liberian son of a bitch"

The drive back to Dover was a quite one, and as Wolf had predicted, it rained. She watched as the scenery changed and thought about joining MI:6 and a Wolf Pack once her time in the RAF was up.

When they got back to the base, Wolf unpacked her things and spent the rest of the day hold up in her room. She still had the rest of the day off after all, they had just returned early, and she had plenty of books to keep her entertained now.

At about half nine as Wolf had just gotten undressed for bed, there was a knock at the door.

She wrapped the blanket around herself and shouted, "Enter." She was surprised to see Dick come in.

Halfway through the door he realised that the blanket was all that was keeping her decent and quickly looked away.

She angrily pulled him in and quickly shut the door. "Dick, you've fucked me for Christ sake, there's no need to be so modest now."

He looked her up and down.

She gave him a nasty look,"Doesn't mean you have to ogle."

He shrugged, "I can't remember anything from that night so what did you expect?"

Wolf sat on her bed and crossed her legs, "what do you want?"

He sat against the wall and lit a cigarette, then offered one to Wolf who refused. "Firstly, congratulations on being knighted."

"'Bout damn time."

"But," Dick said as if Wolf had rudely interrupted him, "It doesn't mean you're going to be treated any different. You're still a Sergeant to the Air Force, no more, no less."

"Sharpshooting Sergeant," Wolf pointed out, "And I already knew that, sir."

"Secondly, about that night…" he took a long drag of his cigarette, "they're both right you know, Mary and Stuart, about us. About how we feel."

"I know," Wolf said sombrely, staring at the ground, "but we can't do anything about it, can we?"

"Fraternisation. We'd both get court-martialled."

"Mhmm."

They sat there in silence for a while, neither one looking at the other.

"Tell you what," Wolf spoke up eventually, "after this war, when we both leave the armed forces, why don't you take me back to Liberion with you? It's not like I have any family to stay here for."

"Deal," Dick agreed, and then laughed, "Though fighting for humanity, or even my country, wasn't my reason for joining."

"Why did you join then?"

"To meet witches. Joined the Army Air Force thinking I would get the chance to sleep with some of their witches when I started getting put up against them in aerial sparring, plane versus witch – which I'll be getting you guys to do if I get the opportunity – and a few months later I was the one training them. Been doing that ever since." He got up and kissed Wolf on the top of the head, "I'll see you bright and early tomorrow, Golden Eyes."


End file.
